POP Tennis - International Grassroots Growth

Exciting developments in the “other” fastest-growing grassroots racket sport

Author

Rich Neher
June 29, 2024

I had a chance to meet and talk with POP Tennis evangelist Mitch Kutner at Miami’s RacquetX 2024 a few months ago. Mitch is also President of the International POP Tennis Association, a charitable, not-for-profit 501(c)(3)organization devoted to creatively and aggressively growing the sport of POP Tennis nationally & internationally. POP is a re-branding of traditional, classic Paddle Tennis which is the “original” Paddle Tennis created in the US in 1898

  • POP is a re-branding of traditional, classic Paddle Tennis which is the “original” Paddle Tennis created in the US in 1898.

  • Mitch was nice enough to provide amazing information about recent developments in Q1 and Q2 this year, together with great images.

  • For the third year in a row, POP Tennis was a featured sport at the Australian Open. Our Pop-up POP demo court was set up in multiple high visibility, high traffic spots around Melbourne Park for spectators and attendees to hit around & sample the sport. It gave POP great entertainment & social exposure to thousands during the 2-3 AO weeks.

  • POP Tennis was one of only four paddle/racquet sports along with Tennis, Padel, and Pickleball to be featured with on-court demos at the Inaugural RacquetX convention back in March in Miami Beach. Over 5,000 attendees from around the world were there. 

POP ambassador, Former ATP World
#2 and Stan Wawrinka Coach
Magnus Norman at the
Australian Open POP demo court

  • The International POP Tennis Association continues to work closely with partners Tennis Australia and ESG/European Sports Group Sweden(Magnus Norman) to create awareness, promote and grow POP tennis in different areas of the world.

AO attendees sampling POP near Rod Laver Arena

  • The Italian POP Tennis Championships will take place June 21-23 at Tazon Padel & POP Arena at the Salice Terme Golf and Country Club. Italian Ambassadors Fabrizio Zonca and Andrea Tava making it all happen.

Flyer for Italian POP Championships

  • Our European partners ESG just reached a partnership agreement with longtime sports/club founder/tennis industry leader/speaker/ ambassador Tarek Francis. Tarek will be working closely with ESG to establish POP in France and Belgium. This includes plans to build clay POP courts. Congrats to ESG POP ambassadors Lars Månsson and Per Marten Karlsen on their dedication and hard work. They continue working to expand POP presence by developing strategic partnerships and identifying ambassadors to accelerate growth in 11 countries across Europe.

  • We have seen a recent uptick in POP play over the last 12 months at various locations in Japan including Tokyo, Miyagi, Nakano and Okinawa. Traditionally POP is called by its pure original name Paddle Tennis there based on decades of history. Commonly in Japan, POP is played indoors on gymnasium floors with taped or painted lines.

Group photo from the 1st Annual Indian POP National

  • The Indian POP Tennis Association ran its first Indian National POP Tennis Championship event back in late January. Approximately 125 players from 8 states and 2 union territories competed for prizes in multiple men’s & women’s divisions.

  • Memorial Day weekend saw players from across the US and some internationally competing in the 51st annual St Augustine Beach Florida Nationals. A great tradition for players of all ages and talent levels.

  • A POP-up POP court was featured at The Teneriffe Festival in Brisbane in June. The one-day event attracts close to 50,000 visitors annually.

  • A full rebranding late in 2023 into early 2024 led to a new POP logo, a new POP website, and new collateral materials to help reach a broader audience and to help make the sport more accessible for players, coaches, and facilities.

  • We continue to see major brands like Babolat, Dunlop, Head & Wilson, and many retailers adding “POP Tennis” into their product lines and merchandise descriptions to make it easier for our players, facilities, and teaching pros to find equipment. Many Padels being marketed & sold online have also been cross-promoted for POP play over recent years.

Recent POP play in Japan. Weekly open play and leagues

That has helped Padel sales but also has made it much easier for POP players to find more options and affordable equipment.

  • POP continues a steady path of commercial growth in the US at various country clubs, gated & retirement communities & tennis/sports facilities. Florida, Arizona, and California lead the way and follow a similar location path that Pickleball started to take a decade ago. We also continue to see solid recreational momentum with court-builders designing, installing & constructing private residential “backyard” POP courts and consumers/groups setting up makeshift courts with portable nets and temp lines(tape/chalk/hashmark) on driveways, streets, parks or anywhere there is open space. The ability to play POP year-round anywhere on all surfaces including hard court, grass/artificial turf, clay/Har-Tru, modular tile flooring, and gymnasium floors creates many opportunities for us to continue growing the game.

  • Los Angeles including Venice Beach continues to be the Mecca of POP aka Paddle Tennis on the west coast. Local volunteer groups like Pop Paddle Venice continue to selflessly lead the way there promoting the sport to new players and protecting our courts for current use and for future generations. Save The Date: The POP/Paddle Tennis US Open Doubles in Venice will be Oct 18-20 weekend. Divisions for all levels of play for women, men, and mixed. Follow our social pages for more info. All are welcome to be there as a player or spectator!

For more information on all things POP, visit us: https://linktr.ee/poptennis