High School Sports/Tennis Continue to Impact the Industry

The National Federation of High School Associations

High school tennis has the most participants in any nationwide junior tennis program in the United States.

National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) data for the 2025-2026 school year shows there were 365,143 high school tennis athletes (161,216 boys and 203,927 girls). The USTA’s flagship Junior Team Tennis program has about 100,000 players (JTT website, May 2026, click here). According to Tennislink (October 2026, click here), USTA adult league programs serve 330,000 adults. There are more high school tennis athletes than the number of participants in these USTA programs.

On its website (click here), NFHS lists 21 sports it oversees, along with adapted and unified programs. Recently, it has added performing arts programs to the activities it oversees.

NFHS has 51 member state associations, including Washington, D.C. Its programs serve almost 20,000 high schools and more than 12 million high school students. On a side note, Rentech Digital (click here) produces a database that states there are 3,079 tennis clubs in the United States. High school tennis programs are a different market segment than the clubs, but they play a significant role in the industry.

The NFHS provides rules for competition, guidelines, education, and marketing for most high school sports and activities in the United States. It also compiles data from the state associations to produce participation statistics for these activities. This report is compiled from that data.

High School Athletes

Table I shows how high school sports and tennis have evolved over the past five decades. In 1971-72, about four million high school athletes participated in high school sports programs. Almost 93% of them were boys.

Fast forward to the most recent season. About 8.4 million athletes participated, and about 57% were boys.

Based on the school, boys and girls may have a variety of sports to play. They may enjoy team sports and individual sports played in a team setting.

In 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, high school sports programs were closed because of COVID-19-related policies. In 2021-2022, sports programs returned, but participation was less than in 2017-18. In 2023-2024, participation in all sports passed pre-COVID levels. Solid growth has continued through the 2025-2026 season.

Table II shows data for the distribution of athletes by state. Texas and California have the highest participation levels. Both have more than 800,000 participants. An additional 12 states have between 200,000 and 350,000 participants.

Boys and Girls Tennis Athletes

The impact of Title IX on high school tennis is evident in Table III. Its guidelines created opportunities for girls to participate in high school sports.

In 1971-1972, about 77.8% of the tennis athletes were boys. In 2025-2026, about 44.1% of tennis athletes were boys.

The number of girls’ tennis athletes declined slightly in 2025-26. This slowdown is likely an anomaly.

Girls Tennis Programs and Participation by State

California and Texas have the most girls' tennis athletes (44,271). Fourteen states have more than 5,000 girls’ tennis athletes in their tennis programs. About 63% of girls' tennis athletes play in these 14 states. Overall, 203,927 girls play in 10,986 tennis programs. There is an average of 18.6 tennis athletes per team.

Boys Tennis Programs and Participation by State

Texas and California have the most boys’ tennis athletes (39,270). The top ten states have more than 5,000 athletes in their tennis programs. They account for about 54% of boys’ tennis athletes.

Overall, 161,216 boys play in 10,381 programs, or an average of 15.4 tennis athletes per team.

Most Popular Sports by Program and Sport – Girls and Boys

The most popular girls’ programs are basketball, track and field (outdoor), and volleyball (Table VI). Track and field (outdoor), volleyball, and soccer have the highest participation.

Tennis is ranked 9th for the number of programs (10,986) and 7th for the number of athletes (203,927).

The most popular programs offered for boys are basketball, track and field (outdoor), and baseball (Table VII). Football, track and field (outdoor), and basketball have the highest participation.

Tennis ranks 9th for the number of programs (10,481) and 9th for the number of athletes (161,216).

Factors That Will Bring Change to High School Sports and Tennis

Overall, participation and the number of high school sports (and tennis) programs have an upward trend!

Looking ahead, demographic changes may impact some high school tennis programs. The Centers for Disease Control (see link) recently reported that the provisional general fertility rate for the United States in 2025 was 53.1 births per 1,000 females ages 15–44. This is a decrease from the rate in 2024 (53.8). The rate has trended downward since 2007. In some areas, lower fertility rates have already forced school districts to close schools.

Another trend is the migration of people to Sunbelt or tax-friendly states. States with high in-migration are Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, and Arizona. States with high out-migration are California, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey. This in-and-out migration will affect the tax base and school enrollment. In turn, it may impact high school sports and tennis programs.

High school tennis has a significant impact on the tennis industry. Hopefully, the tennis industry will find ways to provide greater direct and indirect support for high school programs and athletes in the future.

In addition, Gary Horvath has conducted extensive business and economic research that has largely supported the state of Colorado's economic development efforts.