ITF World Tennis Report 2024 Shows Very Positive for Canadian Tennis
Canadian tennis reached another important milestone in its development today as the ITF (International Tennis Federation) 2024 World Tennis Report, released this week, indicates that the country has moved up numerous ranks in the world stage in several categories. The ITF World Tennis Report is the world’s largest tennis participation and performance survey, evaluating data from more than 199 countries to highlight the sport’s progression across the world. the planet.
Although Canada’s rise as one of the world’s top tennis nations has been well documented over the past decade, most recently when the country won back-to-back world titles at the Davis Cup (2022) and Billie Jean King Cup (2023), the latest edition of the report revealed remarkable progress in participation-related categories.
Among the notable results, we note the following:
- Canada now ranks second in the world for the percentage of its population that plays tennis, at 12.8%. This percentage has increased by 7.1% since the last report published in 2021.
- The total number of people playing tennis in Canada increased from 3.9 million in 2021 to almost 5 million today, an increase of more than a million participants. Ranked at 6e world ranking among nations, this is an incredible achievement for a Nordic country which still faces challenges in terms of access to sport year-round.
- Gender equity in participation has taken a major leap in Canada, as 46% of people playing tennis are now women and girls, up from 29.2% in 2021. Over the past three years, the country has risen to the top of its group of nations sharing the same share of ITF membership[1] (rang initial : 10e). Thanks to tireless efforts to promote gender equity at all levels of sport in Canada, we are now closer than ever to achieving gender parity among people playing tennis.
- The number of Canadian junior competitive athletes with a world ranking has also increased, with 16 additional boys and 12 girls since 2022. This progression shows that our competitive sector is thriving and that our efforts are leading more and more players to fully engage in the sport.
To view all results from Canada, click here.
Peter Kruyt, President of Tennis Canada and Board of Directors, and member of the ITF Strategic Working Group
“We were delighted to see the results of the last World Tennis Report issued by the ITF. The entire Canadian tennis ecosystem, from our federation to provincial and territorial associations, including clubs and municipalities, has worked tirelessly in the years following the pandemic to develop tennis, long considered the best sport in the world. practicing in Canada for health. Seeing these efforts recognized is incredibly rewarding. Together, we can all be proud of these numbers which confirm, once again, our place among the best tennis nations in the world. »
Gavin Ziv, CEO of Tennis Canada
“The ITF data for 2024 is very encouraging and demonstrates that our country’s efforts to develop tennis are having a significant impact. In the case of Tennis Canada specifically, we had identified clear strategic priorities in our last five-year plan, which included increasing overall participation, advancing gender equity at all levels and increasing of the number of athletes in our competitive sector. We have made progress in each of these areas, proving unequivocally that there is a strong appetite for tennis in Canada and that the future of the sport is bright. »
ACCESS TO LAND REMAINS A CHALLENGE
If the results are generally positive for Canadian tennis, the fact remains that the report also highlights certain issues and challenges that will have to be addressed in the coming years if the sport wishes to continue its growth. One of these challenges is the decrease in the total number of recreational fields accessible to the public since 2021 (-178), despite growing demand and an increasingly large player base. Canada now far exceeds the median participant/field ratios within its peer group of nations.
Eva Havaris, Senior Vice President, Tennis Development and Partnerships
“Improving access to tennis is one of Tennis Canada’s top priorities and the ITF report confirms that there is still much work to be done. Over the past few years, through our infrastructure programs and the support of partners like Rogers and National Bank, we have increased our efforts to provide Canadians with more affordable opportunities to play year-round and we are seeing already the positive impact of our actions across the country. However, to meet growing demand and ensure that the population can fully benefit from the health benefits of tennis, efforts to develop sports infrastructures accessible all year round must be accelerated. »
Tennis Canada attributes the reduction in the number of public courts to several factors, the main ones being that some courts are reaching the end of their useful life or that they have been converted into pickleball surfaces (approximately 60 courts transformed in the last 5 years). However, the number of indoor courts has increased since 2021 (+68), and several projects are underway to build more. This number is also expected to grow in the coming years – Tennis Canada’s indoor public court program presented by Rogers will soon reach 37% of its objective of building 160 new indoor courts in 30 facilities by 2029. In addition, the National Bank Own the Court program, launched in 2023, began its efforts to revitalize 100 outdoor public courts across the country by 2030, with 13 courts having already been upgraded in the last two years.
For more information on Tennis Canada’s participation programs or how to join competitive circuits, visit www.tenniscanada.com. Canadians can also explore the web platforms of the Provincial and Territorial Tennis Associations at the following link: https://www.tenniscanada.com/en/provincial-et-territorial-tennis-associations/
[1] This is the group of nations that share the same share of ITF membership. Canada is part of a group of 14 nations that includes: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russia (suspended), Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
