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...

Share your passion for this lifelong sport by helping to grow the game in your own community.  Click here to find a volunteer opportunity in your community or to start your own project.  Some of these projects will introduce kids to the benefits of tennis ... others involve assisting Special Olympians or cleaning up facilities so that everyone can enjoy this lifetime sport.  The possibilities are endless.  One day of service can have a huge impact on someone's life, including your own, so volunteer today!  

LA MIRADA, CA - You can be in a wheel chair and play tennis. That was the lesson for 16 patients of Children's Hospital of Orange County in a tennis clinic held Sunday at Biola University ...  Click here for the article.

The University of Hawaii at Hilo is ...

We realize that if you have never launched or work on a advoacy campaign before, getting started can be daunting. To ease your transition into advocacy, this post outlines a step-by-step process that you can use to see your project through from conception to completion, with helpful hints and tips to follow along the way. We welcome your feedback and suggestions via the comment section of this post.