Tennis Participation In Canada Is Up

Written by: Staff on 30th January 2013

Tennis Participation In Canada Is Up

epa03212674 Canadian Milos Raonic returns to Swiss Roger Federer in their Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament second round match at Caja Magica pavilion in Madrid, central Spain, 09 May 2012. EPA/ALBERTO MARTIN |

Tennis participation in Canada increased in 2012 by 3% over 2011, with a total of 5,055,000 players who played at least once a year. Additionally, 15% of the population (4,739,000 Canadians) play at least four times a year and 1,263,000 (4%) play more than twice a month in the summer – a 6% increase in frequent play compared to 2011.

“Once again, we are very proud of tennis’ consistent increase in popularity in our country,” said Tennis Canada President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Downey. “The recent success Canada has had on the world scene with Milos Raonic, and the Junior Grand Slam champions, Filip Peliwo and Eugenie Bouchard has definitely impacted tennis participation at the grassroots level. We’re confident that the right sized kids’ programs implemented with our many partners coast to coast coupled with continued high performance excellence is only the tip of the iceberg for tennis in the years to come.”

The latest national study conducted among 1400 Canadians 12+ by Charlton Strategic Research Inc. showed that 55 percent of all Canadians define themselves as tennis fans and tennis is viewed by parents as one of the safest sports for children to play.

The province of British Columbia leads all provinces in tennis participation with 25 percent of its residents playing the game regularly. Furthermore, a significant 36 percent of Vancouver residents play tennis regularly, by far the highest in Canada. Frequent or occasional tennis play in British Columbia is higher than all other traditional sports, even more so in the city of Vancouver.

“We will hold our second Davis Cup event in as many years this week in Vancouver and are so pleased with the excitement and hype the city was able to generate around our events,” said Michael Downey.

The Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first-round tie will be held this coming weekend at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Canada is hosting Spain

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Canadian Tennis, Sports, Tennis in Canada, Tennis News