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Summary of our market study
The French market for tennis rackets is estimated at between 40 and 45 million euros.
It is dominated by major brands such as Babolat, Wilson and Head. France's Babolat has become a world leader in the sector, with around 30% of the global market.
Players buy their equipment mainly from multisport stores such as Decathlon and Intersport.
The production of carbon fiber rackets remains the norm.
Trends in the French tennis market
The French tennis racket market observed in 2018 accounted for 43 million euros in revenue from racket sales alone. Sales fluctuate between 500,000 and 600,000 units sold per year.
Sales of tennis shoes, with over a million pairs sold, generate between 55 and 60 million euros.
Some 12 million balls (15 to 20 million euros in sales) and 500,000 strings (10 to 15 million euros) are sold every year.
44% of players belong to a club, and 40% play independently. The Ide-France region accounts for nearly a quarter of all tennis club members.
More than half of all players claim to play tennis all year round. Young players aged 5-19 account for just over half of all members of the Tennis Federation.
The French trade balance is slightly in surplus. Imports come mainly from China. French exports are mainly destined for European markets, with Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK accounting for a significant share.
Players in the tennis racket market
- Décathlon, offers a range of tennis products under its own brand, Artengo.
- GoSport, a major multisport retailer
- Babolat , a leading name in the tennis equipment industry, and a leader in tennis string technology. Wilson , a highly reputed brand
- Head, a niche player with a wide range of rackets
- Prince, a brand with a significant tennis heritage
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of the study
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.
List of charts presented in this market study
- Distribution channels for tennis equipment
- Distribution of female licenses by age group
- Distribution of male licenses by age group
- Men's and Women's Tennis Licensing
- Proportion of people who have participated in at least one of these sports activities in the past 12 months
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Latest news
Tennis: Babolat still holds the line - 07/08/2024
- - age at which Rafael Nadal started using a Babolat racket: 9.
- - Year of Nadal's first Roland Garros victory with a Babolat racket: 2005.
- - Babolat company anniversary: 150th in 2025.
- - Percentage of sales represented by gut strings: 5%.
- - Year Babolat invented its first electric stringing machine: 1975.
- - Year Babolat launched its first racket: 1994.
- - Year Babolat launched its first tennis balls: 2001.
- - Year of launch of tennis shoes in partnership with Michelin: 2003.
- - Number of rackets sold per year: 1.5 million.
- - Sales 2023: close to 200 million euros.
- - Year B. Braun acquired a stake in Babolat: 1981.
- - Number of players under contract with Babolat: 170.
- - Babolat's first market: United States.
- - Babolat's second market: Japan.
- - Babolat's third market: France.
- - Share of sales generated by padel: over 15%.
- - Potential padel market in 5 to 10 years: equivalent to tennis or badminton.
- - Current size of the global padel market: 150 to 200 million euros.
- - Worldwide badminton (and tennis) market size: 1.5 billion euros.
- - Share of European and American markets in Babolat sales: 50% for Europe and 25% for the United States.
For Babolat, padel will catch up with tennis - 27/05/2024
- - Current percentage of padel sales: 16%
- - Target percentage of padel sales for fiscal 2024: 20%
- - Sales: 197 million euros
- - Number of employees: 445
- - Forecast: cross-over of padel and tennis sales curves by 2030
- - Main padel markets: Brazil, Argentina, Spain (5 million players, padel's nerve center)
- - Number of padel players worldwide: 12 to 13 million
- - Opening of a Babolat padel studio near Barcelona
- - Two stringing factories, in Lyon and Ploërmel
- - A logistics platform in Corbas
- - A stringing machine factory in Besançon
- - Partnership with the new Chamatex factory in Ardèche for shoe production
HEAD joins the world of padel: Andrea Ustero and Juan Zamora "Coquito". - 20/06/2023
- Press release announcing the renewal of Andrea Ustero's contract and the signing of Juan Zamora at HEAD Padel.
- Andrea Ustero: 16-year-old world champion, European champion in 2022, three-time Spanish champion in the youth category, world champion in 2019.
- Juan Zamora "Coquito": age 16
- Promising talent in the world of padel; starts playing at age 5.
Intersport to the rescue of Go Sport - 08/06/2023
- Intersport takes over 72 Go Sport stores
- 1,446 employees taken over out of 1,574
- 50 Go Sport stores will become Intersport
- 22 Go Sport stores to remain Go Sport
- Target: 250 new Go Sport stores by 2030
- Target sales: over €650 million
- Intersport - 800 Intersport stores
- Intersport sales in 2022: 3.3 billion euros
- Intersport target with the arrival of Go Sport: 4.4 billion euros
- Decathlon sales: 4.5 billion euros
Roland-Garros: French SMEs are champions of tennis equipment - 30/05/2023
- 4.4 million tennis players in France, including just over one million licensed players.
- sales of 200 million euros for the tennis market in France.
- Babolat: sales of 202 million euros in 2022, up 13% year-on-year.
- 1.5 million tennis rackets sold by Babolat every year.
- Babolat is present in 150 countries, 20,000 clubs and 15,000 stores.
- Other companies in the sector:
- - Tecnifibre: sales of 45.5 million euros in 2022.
- - Supersol: sales of around 2 million euros in 2021.
- - Tweener, leader in LED lighting for racquet sports, has installed its system on over 1,000 courts in some twenty countries.
Rossignol takes advantage of the good ski season and continues to diversify - 28/04/2023
- In its 2022-2023 financial year, which ended on March 31, the Tricolor Group posted sales of 401 million euros, up 28%.
- growth in all markets, particularly France (+36%)
- the domestic market accounts for only 20% of sales.
- The rest of Europe also saw strong growth (+39%)
- North America (40% of sales), up 16%.
- Winter sports-related sales (skis and equipment) account for 80% of Rossignol's business.
- Diversification to become a key four-season player in the mountains
- The share of the "Apparel" division, (footwear and cycling apparel), has increased fivefold since 2015, reaching 20% of total group revenues
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the market for tennis rackets | France
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