Canberra, ACT, 21 June 2021 | tennis.com.au

Participation in tennis reached an exciting new milestone this week as the Australian Capital Territory clocked up its 200,000^th court hire booking through Tennis Australia’s innovative online Book a Court platform.

As a naturally physically distanced sport and the perfect way to keep fit and stay COVID safe, casual tennis court bookings have exploded across the country, growing by 209 per cent over the past 12 months.

Tennis Australia launched the online Book A Court platform nationwide in 2015, to encourage anyone to book a court online, anywhere, anytime, and the ACT has been enthusiastic in their uptake of the new technology.

“We’re thrilled to see participation in tennis increase across the country,” Tennis Australia Chief Tennis and Member Officer Tom Larner said.

“This huge percentage increase across the country, and the milestone in the ACT demonstrates clearly that tennis is a naturally COVID safe sport for all. It’s great to see how making tennis more accessible through a digital platform has been so willingly embraced by people of all ages as a fun, social and engaging way to keep fit and healthy.” 

> To book a court, visit play.tennis.com.au

“Book A Court has been a strategic priority for the ACT and region, and we embraced the pilot program for online bookings enthusiastically from the beginning,” said Tennis ACT CEO Kim Kachel.

“We are ecstatic to see this significant milestone of 200,000 bookings achieved. The ACT and region clubs have been leading the way and embraced the innovative system. It is a fantastic milestone for the clubs, committees, Canberra community, casual players and the ACT Government which supported this program from its inception.

“Clubs have seen a huge range of people coming through the gates, from people picking up a racquet for the first time, through to families, and groups of mates. It really shows that tennis is the sport for all.”

Since June 2020, Tennis ACT has witnessed an average 80 per cent increase in bookings per month, with all 28 of its community clubs across the ACT and region on the Book A Court platform.

The milestone was celebrated when the 200,000^th person to book received a special tennis pack, including a signed Nike t-shirt by Nick Kyrgios, a free annual membership at their club, and a coaching lesson at their local club.

More than 75 per cent of the Australian population now have access to online court bookings through play.tennis.com.au.

Participation fast facts

> According to the latest AusPlay participation survey, tennis participation grew by 15 per cent in the past year to more than 1.33 million people
> Casual tennis court bookings grew by 209 per cent over the past 12 months
> In 2019-2020, 626,089 kids participated in ANZ Tennis Hot Shots
> Tennis was the number one requested sport by primary and secondary schools in Sport Australia’s Sporting Schools initiative
> A total of 3,414 schools deliver tennis as part of their health and physical education curriculum.