More than Four Million People Played Tennis in Canada Last Year

August 7, 2009 

Tennis Canada announced Friday some very encouraging news with regards to the results of a recent survey that indicates that more than four million Canadians played tennis in the last year.

"This is very positive news not only for our sport, but also for the public in general," said Eugene Lapierre, vice-president, Quebec professional tennis and tournament director, Rogers Cup presented by National Bank. "If we can encourage more people to participate in physical activity, we will contribute to their overall well-being while also doing our part to better society."

The survey about tennis participation, which includes key questioning targeting youth aged 12 years and under, was conducted by the marketing solutions firm Charlton Strategic Research Inc. in December 2008, revealed the following interesting points:

·         16,000,000 Canadians (6 years old and over) have played tennis at least once in their life.

·         4,000,000 Canadians (6 years old and over) have played tennis at least once in the past year.

·         830,000 Canadians (6 years old and over) are considered frequent players, having played tennis at least twice per month in the past year.  

·         Children who pick up the game before the age of six are twice as likely to play for their entire lives.

·         Tennis is most often played at parks and on public courts (80 per cent of people who have played in the past year). Tennis is perceived as a very accessible sport to all.

"These results are very motivating and credit is due to everyone involved in growing the game and using tennis as a vehicle to make a difference," said Michael S. Downey, president and chief executive officer, Tennis Canada. "This study helps us understand key metrics and in turn strategies to support community and high performance ambassadors to maximize their efforts. Having nearly half of the Canadian population play tennis at least once in their life is extremely encouraging."

While there are multiple reasons why tennis is such a popular sport for Canadians. Recent success on the international stage has helped bring tennis into the spotlight. In 2008, Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Quebec, became the first Canadian in more than 20 years, and first Quebecer in history, to win a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title when she captured the Tier III event in Stanford, California. She soared to a career-best world ranking of No. 21 and has become a recognizable sports celebrity. Toronto-native Daniel Nestor completed the career Golden Slam when he won Wimbledon with his Tour partner Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia in July 2008. Nestor regained the status of top doubles player in the world and is one of only five men in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal. He successfully defended his Wimbledon crown in 2009 and will look to win the Rogers Cup title in Montreal for the second year in a row.

In addition to the personalities on the professional circuit, Tennis Canada, in partnership with the provincial tennis association and corporate Canada, created innovative community programming which is growing the sport to historic levels. The largest grassroots-based tennis sponsorship is aligned with Dairy Farmers of Canada, and resulted in the creation of Everyday Champions, a nationwide campaign promoting the lifelong benefits of combining tennis with the healthy consumption of milk products. Tennis Canada has also partnered with Miele Limited to bring a national league championship to Canadians, promoting a national league structure and connecting players from coast-to-coast who share in the love of the sport and league play.  The introduction of Progressive tennis has also helped bolster tennis participation. Progressive tennis use modified equipment and court sizes to introduce tennis in a fun and engaging manner to u12 players using team and individual formats.

"Tennis is a very accessible life time sport.   The benefits of playing tennis are evident and enjoyed by all ages and walks of life," expressed Hatem McDadi, vice-president, tennis development. "We are fortunate to have many passionate tennis participants and community leaders advocating the life long benefits of playing tennis, we look forward to introducing and retaining more participants over the next 4 years."

This study will be conducted on an annual basis to assess tennis participation In Canada moving forward. The 2008 full report of the Charlton Strategic Research Inc study is available online at  www.tenniscanada.com.