Last year, another 1.9 million people began playing tennis in the United States. That increase—a striking 8%—brings America’s total number of tennis players up to 25.7 million. That’s an incredible 46% jump from 2019 levels, proving that the sport’s post-pandemic growth is not just holding steady but accelerating. What some saw as a temporary trend has clearly become a lasting shift in how Americans spend their leisure time.
Of all the regions in the U.S., the Pacific Northwest has had one of the largest increases in tennis participation, with 15% annual growth over the last five years. Portland now claims 84,000 active players. But there are also 78,000 Portlanders who want to play tennis but lack access. Here in “Tennis City, USA,” of all places, tennis’s growth has coincided with a troubling reality: a decline in the number of available courts. Some of these losses stem from the closure of private clubs with publicly accessible courts: Eastmoreland Racquet Club (RIP 2015; 11 courts) and Portland Athletic Club (RIP 2025; 5 courts). Other losses are due to permanent tennis-to-pickleball conversions, with precious park space at Gabriel Park (2 courts), Westmoreland Park (2 courts), and Sellwood Park (2 courts) no longer devoted to tennis.
Beyond these outright losses, the number of usable tennis courts has been further reduced by courts that now prioritize pickleball on certain days or times. Columbia Park and even the indoor courts at Portland Tennis & Education in St. Johns have designated pickleball hours, limiting when tennis players can access these spaces.
What these numbers don't capture is the state of the courts that still technically exist for tennis only, but are unplayable due to neglect—courts at Burlingame and Northgate Parks sit abandoned, lacking nets or suffering from severe disrepair.
New courts are expected at the new Parklane Park, near the border with Gresham—but that’s nowhere near enough to offset the over 20 courts lost in the past 10 years. The overall erosion of key tennis infrastructure like benches, backboards, and functioning lights has only exacerbated the problem. And with existing courts being repurposed and prioritized for pickleball, tennis players are left with fewer and fewer places to play a sport that’s exploding in popularity.
And then there’s this troubling development: facing a $65 million shortfall, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s proposed 2025–26 budget would cut operating hours at Portland Tennis Center (PTC)—the city’s only public indoor tennis facility with both indoor and outdoor courts—by one hour per day. The move would reclassify PTC as a general “community center” in order to save just $14,000. While a loss of one operating hour per day might sound insignificant, consider that there are now just 14 publicly accessible indoor courts to serve those approximately 150,000 Portlanders who either play or want to play tennis. For close-in residents who depend on PTC during the rainy season, this proposal feels like a slap in the face.
Community members have until May 21 to raise concerns about proposed cuts to the PTC’s operating hours before the city council votes in June on the 2025-26.