In an effort to make the game of tennis accessible to more players, USTA Southern California has launched an exciting new courts initiative that will focus on helping facilities refurbish older courts from disrepair, provide support for programming and help with revenue-generating events, as well as getting creative and finding new places to play.

The numbers don’t lie, and all reports show that tennis is booming with participation numbers not seen since the 1970s. The benefits of playing tennis and studies that show people who do play live longer has the sport buzzing and an immediate call to action for more court availability.

Enter Trevor Kronemann, USTA Southern California Executive Director who says there is a huge need to deliver more courts for the current and newer players the sport will attract. “It could be the resurfacing of older courts, or courts that aren’t a revenue-generating entity like a homeowners association or a community college or a high school,” Kronemann said. “Tennis is booming and in California we just aren’t able to build 25 or 30-court facilities, so we have to get creative. How are we going to find these courts to continue our programming and, more importantly, to continue to grow the sport?”

It was a question Marina High tennis coach Chuck Kingman asked himself each time he looked over the 16 tennis courts on campus that were in desperate need of renovation. The Huntington Beach Union High School District stepped up and approved and paid for the work and resurfacing of the courts in January. Because of the need for more courts, Kronemann and the USTA Southern California Section seized the opportunity and has helped Kingman’s program hosting events like youth and adult tennis tournaments, camps and other educational opportunities that have already netted the Vikings’ tennis program more than $10,000.

“It’s not like we are doing this to keep all the revenue,” Kronemann said. “We are doing this to put it back in the kitty to be able to do it again in five more years and resurface the courts again. It’s an ongoing process and if we do it right the revenue will allow us to fix more courts.” Kronemann said USTA SoCal is “the lab” to see if the idea to create more courts is sustainable and then to push it to the other sections.

He said that the Southern California section represents 10 percent of the tennis-playing public within the United States. “We have 2.3 million players currently [in Southern California] and by 2035 the USTA wants 35 million playing,” Kronemann said. “There’s 23 million now [nationally] so that means that’s 12 more million. We have to find courts and we have to find coaches. The driving force is to also not lose tennis courts to pickleball.”

Kronemann said for years potential players have been locked out of high school courts. There has to be a way to open them up so they can be used. School districts cite liability concerns, but Kronemann said the section could possibly carry insurance policies that would cover any injuries.

Close to where he lives in south Orange County, Kronemann has driven by areas that include closed car dealerships, a mall, and even a Wal-Mart where he could envision placing down a court mat or having courts laid down. “They already have the lights,” he said. “Why couldn’t we do a pop-up tennis facility with six to eight courts and resurface them and have programming? That’s the type of thinking. There’s a huge government center in Laguna Niguel that had 12 basketball courts put up. That’s going to be what it takes to get to 35 million and continue growing our sport.”

Kronemann continued: “What if we went to the commercial real estate industry and asked about using some empty buildings and play indoors? For the younger kids maybe it doesn’t matter if they play indoors or outdoors as long as they are playing. Does it really matter where tennis is played? I don’t have all the answers, but we really need to rethink this. In order to have the numbers we need for 3.5 million players with the courts we need to have 12,000-plus tennis courts.”

Kronemann relayed an amusing quote in a recent Costa Mesa Daily Pilot story on Kingman and the shiny news courts at Marina High, emphasizing that pickleball is not the enemy and that people gravitate toward the fast-growing sport for the social aspect.

“[Maybe] Friday night it’s pickleball and Jimmy Buffett,” he said. “Saturday night, it’s tennis and it’s the Rolling Stones. Sunday, it’s padel with Jason Mraz. I don’t know what it really looks like, but I do know that people want to be social. I think tennis needs to react to that and it needs to be more than a ‘go play your match and leave’ situation.

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USTA Southern California is funding court resurfacing and repair throughout the section. Click here to see if you and your courts qualify!