i9 Sports adds tennis program for 2023

i9 Sports’ Latest League Offering Is Expected to Expand Customer Base

i9 Sports® is excited to announce our new tennis program for kids ages 5 to 14. Children with any level of experience and skill are welcome to participate. Adding tennis to our leagues takes advantage of the increasing popularity of the sport. The number of Americans playing tennis has increased by 33% since 2020, according to the United States Tennis Association (USTA), and the Aspen Institute’s 2020 Project Play report shows that the number of kids playing tennis rose by 679,000 from 2019 to 2021. “We have the opportunity to continue this trend by encouraging you to start offering tennis as part of your youth sport programming. Tennis offers so much to young people, from the physical benefits of exercise to the mental benefits of focus and discipline,” says Craig Morris, Chief Executive, Community Tennis at USTA.

Another sports program means additional recurring revenue

i9 Sports owners make money primarily through the registration fees to play in our leagues, camps, and clinics. There are a few reasons adding tennis bumps up recurring revenue opportunities:

Tennis attracts a different kind of customer than team sports do, expanding our customer reach.
Tennis programs offered at clubs tend to be expensive. i9 Sports’ program is more affordable, making it accessible for more families.
Tennis can be played indoor and outdoor on flat, paved surfaces, making it a versatile sport for year-round play.

In addition, tennis has roughly equal numbers of boys and girls playing: 53% male and 47% female. Our tennis program is expected to draw a large number of young girls to i9 Sports. Our hope is that our emphasis on sports sampling will encourage more girls to try other sports, too.

Our business model: recurring revenue

An advantage of i9 Sports® is that our youth sports leagues feature recurring revenue thanks to year-round play. Our franchise owners build market share and a loyal following by offering multiple sports, at multiple locations, four seasons a year. In addition to tennis, we offer flag football, volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, and lacrosse. Because we have multiple sports, a child who starts playing one sport can stay with i9 Sports and sample other sports to find their favorites. “We want to provide our franchise owners the avenue to build a really successful, diverse business by offering multiple sports and program types,” says Alli Wentzell, Director of Revenue Operations at i9 Sports. “But for the communities we serve, it’s really the right thing to do in order to meet the demand and promote child development through age-appropriate sport programming,” she says. Our tennis program is based on USTA’s Net Generation program, with its emphasis on age-appropriate instruction, with red ball, orange ball, and green ball progression.

Learn more

Based in Tampa, Florida, i9 Sports is the first and largest youth sports league business in the U.S. Our franchise owners offer youth sports leagues, camps, and clinics for boys and girls ages 3 to 14 in today’s most popular sports. To learn more about our youth sports leagues and the i9 Sports business model, download our free franchise report.