Is Tennis Expensive?
Tennis is generally more costly than other conventional sports, but it’s not necessarily expensive for all players. On average, sports like hockey, skiing, snowboarding, golf, gymnastics, and ice-skating have higher equipment costs and travel expenses. With the exception of golf, athletes in these sports are unlikely to play their entire lives whereas dedicated tennis players often play until their 80’s. The bottom line is that early investment in tennis can be a very savvy move for a lifelong hobby.
As a rule of thumb, tennis is moderately expensive for players on the low-end of the learning curve, very expensive for players on the high-end of the learning curve, and relatively inexpensive for everyone in the middle. Because tennis demands hours of private instruction and refinement, the majority of new players will take 100 hours of private and group instruction over their first 1-2 years. Costs for these lessons vary depending on where a player lives and the type of lesson, but instruction costs range from $5,000-8,000 to reach competitive proficiency. Factor in costs for a basic set of equipment, including a single racquet, shoes, and apparel, and the total for the first 2 years of tennis could be $7000-10,000.
These costs are significantly higher for high performance players with professional or collegiate aspirations. For these players, travel costs, personal training, and equipment costs can raise the annual costs to $50,000-100,000. Many nationally ranked junior players attend year-round tennis boarding schools where tuition plus room and board will cost $60-80,000 per year before factoring in other significant costs such as travel and equipment.
What if you’re just an average, recreational tennis player?
Despite its reputation, tennis can be surprisingly affordable if you’re an average or above average player. We’ll define “average” as someone who plays 4 hours per week at an intermediate-to-advanced level.
Discounting players who join private clubs and pay $6,000-8,000 annually in membership fees, many tennis players choose to play with friends on free or inexpensive municipal courts. For this type of player, the biggest expense will be about $1000 per year for equipment.** They’ll have to own and maintain 2 racquets, restring 3-6 times per year, purchase balls, and change shoes 1-2 times per year.
Players who wish to compete will have to pay a small fee on top of equipment costs. Tennis provides competitions for players of all levels, provided you join an association like the USTA (around $50/year). For the average player to participate in leagues, tournaments, or group clinics, the fees could easily climb to $150 per month on the high end, or $1800 per year.
** Assuming two racquets last a minimum of 3 years, the cost of two racquet per year is $160. Four restrings per year (2 per racquet) will cost an additional $160, and grips will cost about $40. Add in two pairs of tennis shoes ($300), a case of balls ($100), and athletic clothes ($200). The total comes to about $960 per year.
