Prices for renting a tennis court vary considerably across the globe
Renting a tennis court in Central London is a third of the price of Tokyo, according to a new study of hourly rental prices across cities which house many tennis fans. Zagreb and Kiev offer the cheapest hourly rates, with the Scottish capital of Edinburgh and Madrid not far behind.
While the professional male tennis world saw earning surpass the $3 billion barrier in recent years, the sport has been scrutinised increasingly for a lack of affordability among its grassroots and hobbyist scenes. Fortunately, according to the analysis by consumer pricing watchdog ECA International (ECA), players in a number of cities the ECA surveyed (based on the top seeded players for Wimbledon 2017) will not need to earn top dollar for the right to access a court.
The survey found that UK courts are among the most affordable. An appointment on a centre court in London came in at an average of £12.10 per hour, three times cheaper than the fee in Tokyo. An hour of play in the home capital of world number 9 male player Kei Nishikori would set amateur tennis stars back a substantial £35.90. Meanwhile, for those visiting to play in world number 1 Andy Murray’s backyard, Edinburgh’s courts are even cheaper, available to hire at £9.40 per hour.
Courts in world number 2 Rafael Nadal’s city of Madrid followed closely at just under £10 an hour, while according to estimates based on ECA’s data, tennis clubs in Swiss capital Bern, represented by world number 3 Stan Wawrinka and seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, charge an average of over £30 an hour.
Tokyo comes out as the most expensive location to hire a court in the home capitals of the world’s top-seeded tennis players then, costing visitors a massive £29.10 per hour more than Kiev, in Ukraine, the capital of 5th seeded female player Elina Svitolina.
“There will always be surprises when everyday services carry massive premiums or offer fantastic value, and leisure services are no exception, with a tennis court costing nearly £30 more to rent per hour in Tokyo than in Kiev,” said Steven Kilfedder, ECA International’s cost of living expert.
Moscow, in Russia, home capital of women’s number 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova, is the most expensive sample city in Europe, with tennis courts costing £31.40 per hour to hire; almost £20 more than Central London.
Having overtaken UK cities for the first time in three years in ECA’s broader cost of living rankings meanwhile, representing women’s world number 1 Angelique Kerber, Berlin’s tennis courts are also more expensive than British courts, costing £17.90 per hour, the third highest average price in Europe behind Moscow and Bern.
