The Big Serve
Take Heart. Take Part. Take Action.

Welcome to The Big Serve. We at the USTA congratulate you on taking the first step to advocate for tennis in your community. Register on this site to receive updates about tennis advocacy or to post comments on our blog.  You will find some great resources on this site that will help you to build tennis facilities and create programming in your area - like handbooks and a step by step guide through the advocacy process.  You will also find a link to our Public Facility Assistance Program, which will allow you to tap the resources at the USTA in building new or renovating existing tennis courts.  

70% of tennis is played on public courts.  For over ten years, the National Recreation and Park Association has partnered with the USTA to bring parks and recreation agencies Tennis in the Parks (TIP).   TIP is a strategic initiative designed to help improve and expand opportunities for the public to learn and play this lifelong sport.  Interested in forming a Community Tennis Association?  Click here for more information.  Finally, please send us your stories to support the efforts of The Big Serve.

We look forward to your participation and to sharing all of our resources and success.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., November 17, 2009 - The USTA and TIA announced today that tennis participation in the United States topped 30 million players for the first time in more than two decades. The annual survey of 6,000 Americans showed that tennis participation grew in all age groups under the age of 50 and within all ethnicities. With 30.1 million people hitting the courts, tennis participation has grown 12% over 2008 and climbed 25% since 2003. The survey is conducted...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., October 20, 2009 - The USTA announced today that it is awarding over $400,000 in Recreational Tennis Grants to 45 non-profit organizations across the country.  The Recreational Tennis Division has pooled together financial resources to create a new series of grants to be distributed on a bi-annual basis to non-profits that are committed to increasing tennis participation, well-established in their communities, support tennis programming and...

Newark, NJ -- Sept. 2009 --  The USTA and Newark Mayor Corey Booker recently announced the reopening of a renovated Jesse Allen Park. The renovated park features tennis courts of three sizes, including full-size courts (78'), and permanent 36' and 60' QuickStart courts. Jesse Allen Park becomes the first public park in the country to house permanent tennis courts of all three sizes and the first park in New Jersey to...

Springfield, MO -- Sept. 2009 --  Jodie Adams, director of the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, was presented with the 2009 USTA President's Award in New York earlier this month during the U.S. Open.  The annual award recognizes individuals who have given unusual and extraordinary service to the sport of tennis in the pubic interest.  Click here to read the S...

The USTA as an organization is committed to growing the sport of tennis, and as such, encourages Americans to pursue a healthy lifestyle of physical activity.  According to the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity (NCPPA), senior authorities on public health ranging from the U.S. Surgeon General and the World Health Organization to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called upon the U.S. to adopt a national physical activity plan. ...

July 9, 2009 - Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is expected to announce today a citywide initiative to bring about a tenfold increase in the number of children enrolled in tennis programs.  Through a partnership of the District's Department of Parks and Recreation and a number of nonprofit groups, including the United States Tennis Association, the city is kicking off the QuickStart Tennis program, which was developed to help children learn the game.  ...

July 1, 2009 - Chicago (Reuters) - Obesity rates continued to climb in the past year with 23 U.S. states reporting adults in their states are fatter now than they were a year ago, two advocacy groups said on Wednesday.  Obesity rates did not decrease in a single state last year, and the groups warned that the U.S. obesity epidemic must be addressed as lawmakers reform the nation's health system.  ...

May 30, 2009 - The budding tennis players at an after-school program in Southeast Washington used to be picky eaters, discarding their fruit or complaining if their sandwiches had strawberry jelly instead of grape ...  Click here for the Washington Post article.