The market for tennis rackets - France

A tennis racket is an instrument for playing tennis by returning the ball to the opponent's court, consisting of a handle and a sieve. The tennis racket weighs more than 280g, which makes it the heaviest racket compared to squash, table tennis and badminton. About 5 million French people play tennis every year and this market represents in France a few hundred million euros. In 2018, nearly 20,000 tournaments were organized and nearly 2 million official matches, with over 7,500 tennis clubs present in France. Most tennis players and buyers of tennis rackets are members of tennis clubs. In terms of distribution, the major retailers dominate the market and have a 70% market share, far ahead of pure player websites (15%) and independent stores and tennis specialists (around 10%). The tennis market is dominated by a limited number of well-established equipment manufacturers, which leaves little room for new entrants. In order to sustain its growth, the tennis market has refocused on its core business: products designed solely for practice, with a more technical nature(connected racquets, connected wristbands, etc.). The tennis market is now facing the decline of the lifestyle dimension of the sport since the 1990s, and the refocusing of sales on purely sports equipment and accessories.