The number of tennis clubs in Germany has dropped by 14% in the last twenty years

Last Updated on 15 March 2025 by Racket One

Thousands of tennis clubs have shut down during this time, and new ones are opening less frequently.

According to the portal Statista, which cites the German Tennis Association, there were 10,148 tennis clubs in Germany in 2003, but by 2023, this number had fallen to just 8,731. Even more concerning is that the number of clubs has decreased every single year, with no periods of growth.

Interestingly, the number of tennis players in Germany has also decreased during this period. In 2003, the tennis association had 1,89 million members, but this number dropped to 1,47 million in 2023. However, it’s worth noting that this number has started to slowly increase again in recent years.

This decline could be attributed to the retirement of many older players and the slow entry of young people into tennis, who are not as enthusiastic about the sport as previous generations. Additionally, tennis has faced strong competition from other sports in recent years, such as padel and squash.

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