USTA Dedicates $10 Million Toward Courts and Facilities Nationwide

The United States Tennis Association will commit an additional $10 million in grants nationwide to build, refurbish and extend playable hours on courts across the country, a four-fold increase in its existing grant program.

Since 2005, the USTA’s TVS grant program has awarded more than $19 million in grants, including $1.2 million in 2024 that impacted more than 500 courts in more than 60 communities. Facilities must be open to the public to qualify for grant funding. Grant recipients receive project management assistance from the USTA’s TVS team.

“We are committed to supporting the enhancement and construction of tennis facilities in communities across the country,” said Brian Vahaly, chairman of the board president of the USTA. “In partnership with our sections, investing in the development of tennis facilities nationwide helps support the USTA’s mission of growing tennis to inspire healthier people and communities.”

As part of the overall grant program, the USTA launched the US Open Legacy Initiative in celebration of Coco Gauff’s 2023 US Open women’s singles title. The initiative was aimed at reinvigorating courts at parks, schools and other public facilities across the U.S. in Gauff’s honor. The USTA pledged $3 million toward projects around the country for the initiative, which started in 2024 as the USTA, along with Gauff and local leaders, unveiled refurbished tennis courts in Gauff’s hometown of Delray Beach, Florida.

“We’re immensely grateful for the generous support from the USTA,” said Fernando Velasco, who is the executive director of the Capital Area Tennis Association in Austin, Texas. His organization received two TVS grants over the past year to resurface courts at two public tennis facilities. “The completion of these projects will help us continue to serve our community through tennis and it would not be possible without the funding from the USTA and all of our community partners.”

A commitment to courts and facilities is one of three strategic focus areas of the USTA’s plan to grow broad-based tennis participation to 35 million players by 2035. The organization on Wednesday announced that tennis participation in the United States has surged to a new high of 25.7 million players, a nearly two million player increase from 2023.

The data was from the Physical Activity Council Study on Sports and Physical Activity, which has tracked tennis participation since 2007, as well as the PLAY Study (formerly known as the Participation and Engagement Study), which has provided supplemental data through a partnership between the USTA and the National Golf Foundation since 2021.

“Tennis popularity continues to grow and is a sport that is increasingly looking more like America than ever before,” said Lew Sherr, USTA chief executive officer. “Along with our section partners, our mission is to get more people on the court to inspire healthier people and communities everywhere and we are thrilled to see these numbers validate the work we do. We will continue to do our part through an ambitious strategy to grow the game to 35 million players by 2035, a goal that is both actionable and achievable as we seek to bring the benefits of the world’s healthiest sport to more people across America.”