Ranking America’s Top Tennis Cities

The tennis calendar is full of world-renowned events that pit the sport’s best players against each other for the chance to taste glory and bring home huge prize pots. 

Among those, we have the prestigious US Open, a hardcourt tournament held annually in New York that attracts television audiences of millions. According to Google search trends, global searches of the term ‘tennis’ spike around the date of the final each year. 

But where in the U.S. are you most likely to catch tennis fever, and which states are most likely to produce the next Serena Williams or Pete Sampras? We’ve analyzed the data to uncover America’s highest-rated tennis cities based on a series of factors including the number of facilities, the amount of registered tennis players, and your chance of finding a vacant venue. 

America’s highest-rated tennis cities

Comparing several factors, such as the number of clubs and courts in the city and the total number of registered players, we’ve revealed the top tennis cities across America. 

1. New York

Registered Facilities: 185
Registered Courts: 935
Registered Players: 1,610

With an astonishing 935 courts and 1,610 registered players spread across the city, New York is officially America’s top tennis location. Of course, this shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the Big Apple is home to one of the world’s top events. 

However, while NYC leads with an index score of 48.22, be aware that finding a vacant venue here can often be tricky, with just an average of just 1.1 courts for every 10,000 people.

2. Houston

Registered Facilities: 219
Registered Courts: 992
Registered Players: 798

With more facilities (219) and courts (992) than any other U.S. city, Houston ranks among the best locations to catch tennis fever, with an overall index score of 47.37. Across a population of 2.2 million, that’s an average of one tennis club and just over 4.5 courts per 10,000 locals. 

3. Atlanta

Registered Facilities: 141
Registered Courts: 636
Registered Players: 573

Ranking third, Atlanta (46.07) might not be as big as New York or Houston, but the city is certainly crazy about tennis. In fact, nearly 13 in every 10,000 people here are registered players, while there are a reported 3.1 clubs and 14.2 courts per 10,000 locals. 

4. Tallahassee, Florida

Registered Facilities: 44
Registered Courts: 199
Registered Players: 768

Tallahassee earns a mention among the top tennis cities with an overall index score of 40.96. Despite having a population of just 186,000 people, you’ll find 768 registered players here, which equates to 41.2 per 10,000 locals – that’s more than twice the rate of New York City (1.9), Houston (3.6), and Atlanta (12.8) combined. 

5. Orlando, Florida

Registered Facilities: 98
Registered Courts: 393
Registered Players: 400

Orlando is the second Florida location to earn a place in the Top 10 tennis cities in America, with an overall index score of 39.98. This is largely helped by the city boasting 98 tennis clubs and 393 courts across a population of just a quarter of a million – that’s an average of 3.8 and 15.4 per 10,000, respectively. 

H3: 6. Irvine, California

Registered Facilities: 61
Registered Courts: 269
Registered Players: 732

Irvine picks up an overall index score of 39.86, most notably because of the high number of registered tennis players across the population. In fact, among the 236,000 people who live here, you’ll find 732 tennis fanatics who regularly play – this means Irvine boasts the second-highest rate of registered players of all U.S. cities with a population of over 100,000 (behind only Tallahassee). 

7. Bethesda, Maryland

Registered Facilities: 37
Registered Courts: 192
Registered Players: 73

Placing seventh among America’s top tennis cities, Bethesda earns an index score of 38.11. The city might only have 192 courts, but across a population of just 65,000, that’s a mighty 29.5 per 10,000 people – a rate that places the city second only to the sleepy town of Box Elder, South Dakota (30.2). 

8. Newark, Delaware

Registered Facilities: 30
Registered Courts: 84
Registered Players: 32

Newark is the smallest city to feature in our Top 10, with a population of just 34,000, but it’s got serious tennis fever, nonetheless, earning an overall index score of 38.07. A huge part of the city’s high ranking is the incredible rate of facilities, with 8.9 tennis facilities per 10,000 people – more than any other U.S. location. 

9. Charlotte, North Carolina

Registered Facilities: 93
Registered Courts: 628
Registered Players: 882

With an overall index score of 37.65, Charlotte is certainly somewhere you’re likely to catch tennis fever. The city boasts more tennis courts (628) than all but seven other U.S. locations and has the fourth-highest number of registered players (882) – behind only Los Angeles (912), Austin (1,067), and New York (1,610).

10. San Diego

Registered Facilities: 123
Registered Courts: 735
Registered Players: 814

San Diego rounds out our Top 10 tennis cities, with a reasonable index score of 37.16. Here, you’ll find 123 tennis clubs and 735 individual courts, as well as 814 registered players – although, across a population of over 1.35 million, that’s an average of just 0.9, 5.4, and 6 per 10,000 locals, respectively.

With the U.S. Open around the corner, all eyes are on the leading stars – although outsiders and America’s best chances of success Taylor Fritz and Cori Gauff will be hoping to upset the odds. In the meantime, for even more expert insight and the latest news in the world of sport, head on over to our tennis picks page.

Methodology

To determine America’s top tennis cities, we created an index that considered six equally weighted and ranked factors for each location:

1. Registered facilities in the city: The amount of tennis facilities, as per the Global Tennis Network.
2. Registered tennis courts in the city: The amount of tennis courts, as per the Global Tennis Network.
3. Registered tennis players in the city: The amount of registered tennis players, as per the Global Tennis Network.
4. Registered tennis facilities in the city (per population): The amount of individual tennis facilities in the city, against the overall population of the city.
5. Registered tennis courts in the city (per population): The amount of individual tennis courts in the city, against the overall population of the city.
6. Registered tennis players in the city (per population): The amount of individual tennis players in the city, against the overall population of the city.

To create the ranking, we combined the score of each factor to get a final index score out of 100 for each city. The higher the score, the better the city