Issue No. 309: Free Play
Racket sports are diversifying.
Break Point
Tennis is on the upswing.
- ~23.8M people hit the courts in 2023.
- Over the past four years, participation spiked 33% in the US.
- Since 2019, the number of Latino and Black players grew by 105% and 63%, respectively.
Refreshing the association’s mission, the USTA is pitching tennis as the people’s sport — aiming for 35M players by 2035 while emphasizing its potential to transform communal well-being.
Love Club
Confounding variables could be at play, but tennis appears to have outsized health benefits.
- Reducing risk of death by 47%, racket sports cut mortality more than any other sport.
- On average, recreational tennis players live a decade longer than sedentary people.
- Tennis is among the safest sports, with the lowest high school injury rates.
Researchers believe its social spirit promotes wellness, but its upper crust air has deterred diverse players, limiting its growth and impact — until now.
As young brands put their spin on the sport, citizens of all backgrounds are partaking, with people of color comprising a record-high 40% of US participants last year.
Mixing nostalgic values with an inclusive vision, tennis 2.0 could be just what culture needs. Serving change, companies are scaling resources to meet the moment.
Cool crews. Open-invite and low-pressure, community-oriented crews offer an easy entry point.
The anti-Wimbledon, All Love Racquet Club drops elitism, bringing together music, fashion, art, and friends for a block party feel. Embracing inner-city energy, Oyster Tennis Club hosts free pickup-style sessions in local parks.
Rewriting the rules, LVBL combines community, cardio, and competition in king-of-the-court doubles tournaments across CA, NY, and FL.
Fresh fits. Ditching outdated dress codes, new styles are designed to be transitional.
Pushing athletic lifestyle apparel, Vuori, Alo, and lululemon all dropped tennis collections in recent years, and Wilson tapped streetwear brand Kith for a collab. For on or off the court, sport-specific upstarts Palmes and FURI Sport blend urban details with traditional designs.
Capitalizing on the sport’s momentum to grow beyond running, On upped the cool factor by signing “tenniscore” trendsetter Zendaya and adding colorful vibes to an all-white affair.
Spinoffs. Requiring less athleticism, pickleball and padel are simultaneously rising.
Modernizing the country club, Miami-based Ultra Padel houses luxe amenities and holistic wellness programs, while Padel House boasts recovery lounges and a juice bar.
Going all-in, Life Time operates 700+ permanent pickleball courts and built its first ground-up facility this year. Infusing AI coaching, The Picklr counts 275+ locations across America.
Hands In
Beyond tennis, social sports are surging, with one in five adults likely to join a rec league.
Varying the intensity, some startups are scaling streamlined, tech-forward leagues and training programs, while others—like Volo Sports and DC Fray—resemble adult recess.
Leading with fun, venues from TOCA Social to Batbox and JumpShot Live are following in Topgolf’s footsteps with family-friendly sportstainment concepts.
Upping the ante, Canyon Ranch launched an NBA-inspired athletic retreat, and golf tourism startup Birdie Houses hosts group trips for serious amateurs.
With a wider range of access points, Americans are getting sportier, albeit less competitive. But, like wellness, sports will make the greatest impact by welcoming less-intense approaches.
Takeaway: From Naomi Osaka to Iga Świątek and Ben Shelton, tennis players come from all walks of life — and the sport is evolving to reflect that. Rebranding, racket sports are igniting America’s excitement for casual recreation.
🎙 On the Podcast
Endel co-founder & CEO Oleg Stavitsky discusses the future of sound wellness.
Harnessing the neuroscience of music, Endel’s AI-powered functional audio platform offers adaptive soundscapes to help people focus, relax, and sleep better.
We also cover: Artist collaborations, potential hardware integrations, and sound wellness research.
Listen to today’s episode here.
💊 Life Time pushes beyond fitness
The premium health club operator unveiled LTH nutritional supplements, targeting gut health, anti-aging, and muscle-building.
Supp club. Simplifying supplements for 71% of members feeling overwhelmed with options, LTH products will be sold in clubs, online, and via Amazon.
Diversifying. Reporting a 19% jump in Q3 revenue, Life Time noted strong growth driven by pickleball, personal training, and in-house longevity clinic MIORA.
Wellness merchants. As wellness evolves, brands are diversifying to keep pace.
- Healthy meal delivery service Factor launched a DTC supps subscription.
- Rewarding loyalty, Equinox tapped Thorne for exclusive supplement bundles.
- Thinking beyond apparel, Alo added beauty ingestibles, NOBULL swallowed TB12’s supplements biz, and Reebok dropped electrolytes and creatine.
Punchline: Consumers want effortless wellness. For Life Time and others, completing the lifestyle is an easy upsell.
🏃 Equipment for the Long Run
Level up home workouts with Centr’s cutting-edge cardio machines.
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Support. With a free Centr App membership included, you’ll gain access to wellness coaching and content from Chris Hemsworth’s team of expert trainers.
Run with confidence knowing every machine is engineered for longevity, powered by an energy-efficient motor and backed by a limited lifetime warranty.
Step onto a Centr Treadmill and run toward the future of fitness.
📈 Garmin gains ground
The wearable maker reported $1.5B in Q3 revenue, its third straight quarter of record sales.
Core strength. Garmin’s fitness division grew 31% to $464M, driven by demand for running- and wellness-focused devices.
Meanwhile, its outdoor segment gained 21% reaching $527M fueled by adventure watches, including the launch of fēnix 8 and Enduro 3.
Long run. Beloved by endurance athletes, Garmin played the long game, outlasting deep-pocketed rivals like Apple and Google to remain competitive in the wearable wars.
With its market cap approaching $40B, the company hopes new AI coaching features and map upgrades will provide a boost.
Punchline: Building concurrent wearables series—from kids to everyday wear to exploration—Garmin is broadening appeal without alienating die-hards.
💪 Mark Wahlberg re-enters fitness
The actor/entrepreneur is teaming with EōS Fitness to open a Las Vegas gym.
On the mark. An extension of Wahlberg’s apparel business, the MUNICIPAL-branded brick-and-mortar will feature high-end equipment, cold plunge and other recovery therapies, a café, and retail for clothing and supplements.
Take two. Wahlberg previously backed F45 Training, taking a pre-IPO stake, becoming chief brand officer in 2023, and committing to operate Boston-area franchises this year.
Expanding, his sportswear brand MUNICIPAL recently debuted its first retail location and athletic shoe. Wahlberg also owns Performance Inspired supplements with F45 CEO Tom Dowd.
All in. Leveraging EōS’ training and recovery expertise—MUNICIPAL GYM unites his interests under one roof while providing a physical manifestation of his flagship brand.
Looking ahead: Whether his white-labeled gym is a one-off or EōS upmarket extension remains TBD, and how Wahlberg divides his attention between MUNICIPAL and F45 may be telling.
📰 News & Notes
- Peloton reports improved profitability, names CEO.
- Brooks smashes sales records, notching $1B YTD.
- Oura buys Sparta Science, enhances B2B platform.
- Movemint integrates endurance events with Strava.
- GymNation accelerates expansion in the Middle East.
- Remedy Place opens its SoHo NYC social wellness club.
- Hims & Hers releases white paper on compounded GLP-1s.
- Vitamin Shoppe parent Franchise Group files for bankruptcy.
- Hyperice’s Normatec Elite lands on TIME’s Best Inventions list.
- UK-based PureGym gains US foothold with Blink Fitness acquisition.
- Longevity clinic operator Clinique La Prairie launches innovation fund.
- ASENSEI and 3DLOOK partner to power precision fitness and weight loss programs.
- Want to reach wellness consumers? Partner with Wellworthy. Part of the Fitt platform, we help health-seekers discover best-in-class brands to unlock their true potential.
💰 Money Moves
US 🇺🇸 / Canada 🇨🇦
Sports nutrition company 1440 Foods acquired protein bar maker FITCRUNCH.
Persperity Health, creators of a sweat-sensing patch for women’s hormonal health, raised $1M in a pre-seed round.
AI-powered mental health platform CredibleMind secured $7.5M in a Series A round led by Horizon Mutual Holdings.
Private campsite booking platform Hipcamp acquired campsite and lodging platform BookOutdoors.
IDA Sports, creator of high-performance footwear for female athletes, raised $2M in a round led by Kynisca.
Canadian cognitive training platform NeuroTracker received a $2M grant from Brain Canada and CQDM.
YouChews, maker of coffee-based energy chews, raised $1.3M in funding.
Loftie, a sleep wellness company tackling smartphone addiction, secured $4.3M.
Europe 🇪🇺
enterprise software for health and performance optimization.
UK-born budget operator PureGym acquired the majority of Blink Fitness’ assets for $121M.
UK supplements maker Applied Nutrition raised $204M in a London IPO.
More from Fitt Insider: Applied Nutrition Goes Public
Finnish alt-dairy brand Oddlygood acquired the UK’s Rude Health, maker of dairy-free drinks, cereals, and snacks.
Swedish obesity care platform Yazen Health closed €19.5M ($21.2M) in a Series A round.
The UK’s Collider, brewer of nonalcoholic beers with adaptogens, raised £720K ($937K) in pre-seed funding.
Australia 🇦🇺 / New Zealand 🇳🇿
Aussie better-for-you brand builder Soulfresh acquired cold-pressed juice maker Emma & Tom’s.
Latin America 🌎
Mexican boutique studio operator Commando landed undisclosed funding from ACON Investments.
Future Biome, a Buenos Aires-based maker of probiotics for inflammatory disorders, raised undisclosed funding from Big Idea Ventures’ Global Food Innovation Fund II.
Today’s newsletter was brought to you by Anthony Vennare, Joe Vennare, Ryan Deer, and Jasmina Breen.
