Why Tech Investors Are Rallying Behind Racket Sports

Not because sport wasn't culturally valuable—but because it rarely looked like venture capital. Franchises weren't software businesses. There were no exponential user curves, no viral distribution, no obvious exit multiples. Just expensive assets, passionate fans, and long investment horizons.

That thinking has changed.

As AI reshapes almost every industry, investors are beginning to appreciate something they previously discounted: experiences built around real human competition don't become less valuable in an AI-driven world—they become more valuable.

That argument has been made around major league sports for months. We think the more interesting story is happening elsewhere.

Racket sports may be one of the biggest beneficiaries.

The Anti-AI Asset

Alexis Ohanian recently described sport as the "ultimate anti-AI bet."

He's right.

AI can generate content. It can't generate Wimbledon Centre Court at match point. It can't recreate the tension of a deciding tie-break, the atmosphere of Roland-Garros, or the feeling of watching your local club's top team secure promotion.

Racket sports sit in a particularly strong position because participation and fandom reinforce each other.

Millions of people don't just watch tennis, padel, badminton, pickleball or squash—they play them every week.

That's a flywheel very few entertainment businesses can replicate.

Participation Is Becoming the Real Investment Thesis

For decades, tennis dominated the conversation.

Now the picture looks very different.

Padel has become one of the fastest-growing participation sports in the world, with more than 30 million players across over 130 countries, according to the International Padel Federation.

Pickleball has become America's fastest-growing sport for multiple consecutive years, with the Sports & Fitness Industry Association estimating 19.8 million U.S. players in 2024—an increase of more than 300% in just three years.

Meanwhile, tennis remains enormous.

The International Tennis Federation estimates there are approximately 106 million tennis players globally, making it one of the world's largest participation sports.

Those numbers matter.

Investors increasingly prefer businesses with recurring engagement rather than one-off transactions.

• Weekly court bookings.

• Club memberships.

• Equipment upgrades.

• Coaching.

• Leagues.

• Digital communities.

• Tournament attendance.

It's a much broader ecosystem than simply selling tickets to elite events.

Technology Doesn't Replace Racket Sports. It Makes Them Better.

One line from Josh Kushner's Thrive Eternal launch stood out:

That's exactly how we think about racket sports.

Walk into many tennis or squash clubs today and you'll still find software that feels like it belongs in 2012.

Independent opinion: the biggest technology opportunity in racket sports isn't elite performance—it's operational infrastructure.

The winners won't necessarily build the smartest AI. They'll build software that saves clubs five hours every week.

Why Private Capital Is Paying Attention

The recent wave of technology investors entering traditional sports isn't just about buying trophies.

It's about buying durable communities.

Racket sports have several characteristics institutional investors increasingly like:

• High participation

• Multi-generational audiences

• Healthy demographics

• Growing female participation

• Strong international reach

• Premium consumer spending

• Real estate attached to clubs and facilities

• Significant opportunities for software modernisation

Unlike many professional sports, racket sports also offer multiple points of entry.

An investor doesn't need to own Wimbledon.

They can back:

• Court operators

• Booking platforms

• Coaching marketplaces

• Equipment technology

• Performance analytics

• Community apps

• Facility developers

• Media businesses

That's a much larger innovation surface.

The Next Decade Won't Be Won on Centre Court

The biggest businesses in racket sports over the next ten years may not own tournaments. They may own the infrastructure behind them. Think about what happened in retail.

Amazon didn't become valuable because it sold books.

Stripe didn't become valuable because people loved payment processing.

They became infrastructure.

Racket sports are still waiting for many of those infrastructure companies to emerge globally.

• Club management software remains fragmented.

• Video analysis is still developing.

• Community platforms are regional.

• Court utilisation remains inefficient.

AI can solve many of these problems without changing what makes racket sports special.

Our Take

The headlines focus on billionaires buying sports franchises.

We think the more interesting opportunity sits several layers below.

Participation is growing.

Technology adoption is accelerating.

Capital is arriving.

Those three trends rarely converge at the same time.

For founders building in racket sports, this feels less like a moment and more like the beginning of a cycle.

Because while AI may automate parts of almost every industry, it still can't replace two players walking onto a court with a racket in hand.

And that's precisely why investors are starting to pay attention.