Unraveling the Net Worth: Exploring Financial Disparities and Diversity Deficits in Tennis

Abstract

The cost of tennis for young players—such as equipment, lessons, tournaments, etc.—imposes financial barriers and affects the composition of the sport. Tennis is an expensive sport with high entry costs—competitive players require coaching, equipment wears out quickly, traveling to tournaments is both time-consuming and expensive, and tennis academies do not have financial aid but are as expensive as boarding schools. These factors, along with the fact that few professional tennis players are people of color, disproportionately affect low-income communities, especially for non-white players. In this paper, I will clarify the magnitude of the effect, how that influences the tennis circuit, and what can be done to change tennis culture.