TIA Reports 12 Straight Quarters of Growth
Tennis bucks the trends--only traditional sport to grow in the past 5 years
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jolyn deBoer
PO Box 7845
Hilton Head Island,
843-686-3036
Jolyn@TennisIndustry.org
09/13/06 - Hilton Head Island, SC – Research shows that all sectors of the sport of tennis have grown, from sales of equipment to increases in the number of recreational players and fans, reports The Tennis Industry Association. This growth comes at a time when other traditional sports are struggling. According to a Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) survey, tennis is the only traditional sport that has grown in the past five years – up 10.3%. In addition, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) announces a record setting 2006 US Open plus significant increases generated in website traffic and TV ratings.
The evidence of tennis’ growth is compelling. Among the findings presented at the recent TIA semi-annual meeting in New York was the fact that racquet shipments showed 12 straight quarters of growth, up 26.4% since 2003. Tennis ball sales were also up 10.1% and racquet sales increased 4.8% through June.
“All parts of our sport are working together to grow the game,” says TIA Executive Director Jolyn de Boer. “Manufacturers, organizations, and teaching pros realize that when we grow participation, good things happen. Important industry initiatives fueling the growth include Cardio Tennis program with Denise Austin and Tracy Austin as spokespersons, and a targeted marketing campaign for Tennis Welcome Centers featuring Maria Sharapova, who won the 2006 U.S. Open and 2004 Wimbledon championships. These initiatives from the early Play Tennis America days to our newest Cardio Tennis program are all parts of the ongoing industry-wide efforts to attract more people to the game and find ways to keep them playing.”
Key trends and highlights include:
Industry Sales:
• Industry sales risen 2003, with racquet and ball sales showing significant increases.
• Total racquet shipments are up 26.4% since 2003; 12 straight quarters, an increase of 21.6%
• Youth racquets an increase of 41.2%.
• Premium racquets have also shows an increase of 49% since 2003.
.
Participation:
• Tennis is the only traditional sport to have a positive participation change since 2000. According to the 2006 SGMA SuperStudy*, tennis has had a 10.3% increase, while other sports, including Golf, Football, Baseball, Basketball, Swimming, and Soccer, are showing declines.
• Tennis participation grew by 1.1 million in 2005, to reach 24.7 million individuals playing the sport, the highest number of total players since 1992.
• 5.8 million new players began playing tennis in 2005.
• Diversity has continued to increase in the game of tennis, with minorities representing 33% of all new players.
• Frequent players (those playing more than 21 times per year) topped 5 million players, up 8.8% in 2005 and 14% in the past 2 years.
TENNIS INDUSTRY GROWTH, continued
2006 US Open* – (source: USTA Reports)
• For the first time, all Night Sessions for the first week were sold out, or were at 99% of capacity.
• The all-time night session attendance of 23,736 was set on Opening Night.
• On Sunday, September 3, the all-time total attendance record for one day/night was set, topping 60,000 for the first time (60,505).
• USOpen.org received 12.5 million visitors during Week One, an increase of 40.8% over the record first week traffic set in 2005.
Television - (source: USTA Reports)
• The national overnight rating for the Men’s Final on CBS Sports was 4.1, the second best rating
for the Men’s Final since 2002 when Sampras defeated Agassi.
• The Women’s Final rating of 3.2 was a 3% increase over 2005 and a 28% increase over 2004.
• The Agassi-Baghdatis match on Thursday night equaled USA Network’s highest rating
in four years.
• USA Network earned its best Opening Night rating in its 23 years of US Open coverage.
“Not since the early 1980s has the sport of tennis seen across the board increases in equipment sales and participation increases,” says TIA President Jim Baugh. “After being in the sporting goods industry for the past 30 years, it is great for me to see tennis doing something that no other traditional sport has been able to accomplish. It’s very gratifying to see this growth but we must realize the importance of keeping this momentum going.”
# # #
The Tennis Industry Association, the not-for-profit trade association for tennis, is THE unifying force in the tennis industry providing industry research and market intelligence, programs, products, and services to promote the economic vitality of TENNIS. Core TIA initiatives include the Annual TIA/USTA Tennis Participation Survey, Consumer and Trade Research, Tennis Welcome Centers, Cardio Tennis, 50-50 Coop, Growing Tennis Programs, TennisConnect.org, TennisWire.org, TIA Merchant Card Services, Media Services and the TIA Advantage Card. For more information, please visit TennisIndustry.org or call the TIA at 843 686 3036.
Note: Ball and racquet shipments are closely correlated to tennis participation. W & W Services, Inc. conducts these quarterly census reports for the TIA on racquets, balls, and strings to define the total size of the U.S. market. The TIA provides more than 70 research and market intelligence reports annually in conjunction with Sports Marketing Surveys in addition to the annual TIA/USTA Participation Study with Taylor Research and Consulting Group
For more information, contact: Jolyn de Boer, Executive Director, TIA -- (843) 686-3036, jolyn@tennisindustry.org
for USTA - US Open reports, please contact Seth Sylvan, 914-696-7088, sylvan@usta.com
