Q.  My son is eight years old and has been taking tennis lessons for over a year. He came to me and wanted to know how many people play tennis and if it is a popular sport.  He hears a lot about lacrosse and soccer at elementary school and wonders if many people still play tennis.  After searching several websites I cannot find information on the popularity of tennis.
-Shannon Neal and Caleb Neal, South Windsor, Conn.

A.  Worldwide figures for the number of tennis players are next to impossible to come by, but tennis is widely acknowledged as one of the most popular and cosmopolitan of all sports. According to their website, the  International Tennis Federation has 144 member nations, from Algeria to Zambia, with full voting rights in the organization. It seems no matter where you go in the world you can find someone to play tennis with.

Here in the U.S. a 2005 study commissioned by the USTA and the Tennis Industry Association found that nearly 25 million people in this country play tennis. That's an increase of about 1.1 million from 2004 and is also the highest number seen since 1992. Of that number, 5.2 million are frequent players, meaning they play tennis 21 or more times per year.

-Tony Lance