In 2014, The United States had an estimated 250,000 courts to accommodate 28 million Americans who play tennis, according to the United States Tennis Association's statistics. Today, the number of people who play has dipped to 18 million in just four years, leaving private and public tennis clubs to ask: What's changed?

In short, an evolving consumer behavior and technological innovation.

Uber and Airbnb are testaments to this. Not only did they 'disrupt' the taxi and hospitality industries, but more significantly -- they carved out an entirely new market by delivering a better experience and making a simple service more accessible to a huge, tech-savvy, and severely underserved market who knows exactly what they want.

The tennis industry is no exception.

Unhappy with the decline of tennis participation and lack of convenient options to reserve a court, (If you could reserve dinner to a private jet from your phone, why not a court?), our mission became clear: Grow the sport of tennis by making it more accessible for players, enthusiasts, and clubs.

As passionate and avid tennis players from an early age, our team experienced the growing pain points both players and clubs encounter in the digital age. After months of customer development and tennis participation stagnant, we've found these pains were a result of clubs still holding onto traditional systems that are simply not sustainable for the long-term.

That's why we created Kourts, (https://www.kourts.com) the fastest-growing online tennis club management and reservations platform connecting players to nearby clubs; generating over 30,000 bookings per month for leading tennis facilities across North America.

As a marketplace, Kourts enables players and enthusiasts to easily find, book, safely pay, then play at nearby courts directly from their smartphone. (Think of it like OpenTable for Tennis.)

Our free iOS and Android app provides the fastest and most reliable way to play -- not only targeting the the 18 million consumers in the U.S., but also appealing to the 15 million Americans who have expressed an interest in playing.

For tennis clubs and instructors, Kourts serves as a powerful, yet simple solution to digitize operations, deliver exceptional member experiences, and increase bookings without all the hassle. Key user benefits include:

• Driving More Business
  When your club is part of our network, new players can discover it and loyal customers can enjoy it more often. This leads to increased bookings, higher occupancy rate, lower marketing spend, and happier customers.
  
• Save Time
  Time is money, as we know. Kourts helps eliminate busy work by streamlining operations from bookings to payments and yes -- even the ball machine! Best of all, our Instructor App seamlessly integrates with clubs. Pros can reserve courts, schedule clinics, lessons, and submit invoices without all the back-and-forth.
  
• Ease of Use
  As a cloud-based software, Kourts was built to fit any type of tennis facility including private clubs, park and recreational, Homeowner Associations (HOA), universities, etc. Our features are powerful, easy to use, and customizable to meet your growing needs from the convenience of any browser.
  
• Partner with Pros
  We're successful when you're successful. Every feature we develop, is in partnership with our clubs. We'll set you up, promote your locations, and work alongside to grow together. Think of us as your doubles partner.
  

As members age, technology advances, and consumer behavior continues to change led by tech-savvy Millennials moving into their prime spending years, operators are forced to examine how they do business for decades to come.

Millennials - who make up the largest demographic in the US history - spend more on fitness than college tuition, according to a new study by sports and nutrition company My Protein. Goldman Sachs also revealed that wellness was an active, daily pursuit and the one space where Millennials are willing to spend money on.

This presents a significant opportunity for forward-thinking tennis clubs to not just survive, but thrive. It also poses a real risk to organization unwilling to adapt.

Other sports have already transformed with the help of technology, creating longevity, value, and scale. Tennis may be late to the game, but not too late. That's why we created Kourts -- to grow the best sport in the world and seamlessly usher in clubs to gain a competitive advantage in a world that moves at tech speed.

David Sammel "Locker Room Power" 

Paul Annacone "Coaching for Life" 

 Bill Patton "The Art of Coaching High School Tennis"

Sidney Wood "The Wimbledon Final That Never Was"

Pat Cunningham Devoto "The Team"

Ara Grigorian "Game of Love"

David W. Smith: "Tennis Mastery"

David W. Smith: "Coaching Mastery"