Do you think tennis is a ' posh ' sport?

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When you hear someone saying they play tennis, do you assume they're a bit well off / posh ? Whatever you want to call it.

Yes probably. Not the game so much as being part of a tennis club. No idea why though - maybe TV always portraying the bored rich housewife and the tennis instructor style story.

Generally, yes.

The people at our town's tennis club - and cricket club - are quite posh yes. I think of them as middle class sports.

It’s a cheap thing to do isn’t it? Local courts in the park and all you need is a cheap racket and a few balls. It’s certainly the cheapest one of my DC’s activities and the cheapest summer camp. So I’d say no unless they’re specifically on about a pricy private club, but then it’s the club element and not the sport itself.

It's an expensive sport to pursue so I would assume the person was comfortable

I think so, yes. When I was growing up there was a big waiting list to join the tennis club and I had the impression that it was expensive, too.

No idea if that's the case now, though.

Well any sport other than football was posh back a few generations surely. Tennis is the staple of country clubs and Wimbledon and having to wear sparkly whites is posh in itself.

On the other hand, you can hire the tennis courts on our cliff top for £2.50 an hour, there are free ones in the park, the tennis club is £150 for a family membership for the year near us so no I don't particularly think it's posh now.

Not especially. I mean posh people probably have more free time to play but our local park has tennis courts you can book for about £10, which is very popular among all sorts of people.

Maybe the availability of tennis courts in parks has made it more accessible than it used to be?

Yes, definitely posh.

Tennis lessons, or a club etc? Yes.

Knock around the balll at the park... no.

Like many sports, there's posh versions and more accessible options. Like rugby. Its both one of the cheapest and most expensive kids hobbies around here, depending on club (and the cheaper clubs do just as well as the pish ones!)

No. This is not the 1930s.

Yes. I couldn't afford tennis lessons at our local club.

You don't see many working class kids playing it

Yes of course its a bit posh, like skiing

No, at least not where I'm from

Yes

It's funny...it does sound a bit posh; "I am going down to the tennis club"...connotations of a country club vibe I guess.In reality as a hobby I think it's pretty accessible financially. Membership of a club around here (East Anglia, standard 2-3 court club, no fancy facilities but a club house/shed) works out anywhere between £6-£15 a month which gives free access to courts and organised social play. Coaching is obviously extra and you can spend on kit if you get into it.
Even the 'fancier' places with a proper clubhouse, bar, changing facilities etc are around £40/month though. I don't know what it's like elsewhere in the country for comparison. Non member court hire is normally between £5-10 an hour, so definitely makes sense to join a club if you want to play regularly.
I play regularly and the younger members tend to be more of a mix than the older members (who do give off that middle class retired vibe, but are perfectly friendly and welcoming- in my experience!)

Yes absolutely posh. I'm originally from a very working class background but I'd have friends and acquaintances from all sorts of backgrounds and I don't know a single person who plays tennis.

It's a bit like Rugby, that's always thought of as a bit of a posh sport I guess as it's played at private schools but it's the cheapest sport DD has ever taken part in £70 for the year, and the subsidised bar is super cheap too.

It's a sport that posh people seem to do but can be done on a budget if you want.

It's not like polo where that gets very pricey no matter what sort of involvement you want.

But OTOH there is an "exclusive" aspect to it. So if you want to join a club, get coaching, all the gear, visit the tournaments that can get very pricey.

But a knockabout down the local park courts with a pair of secondhand rackets can be done for peanuts.

Yes

DS does tennis in the summer and rugby the rest of the year. Sounds posh and well off but not really.
We live in a semi detached former council house (£160k) in a small northern town and earn less than £70k between us so not well off. DH coaches both.

I live in another country.
I play tennis.
Growing up we had access to heaps of courts, you could just wander into the local school and play on the weekends, generally the courts and facilities were left unlocked. As long as you took care of them no one minded if they were used. When I moved to the UK and mentioned I was playing tennis one weekend the whole office was like 'Oooooh get you'! I was like huh? Then someone went on to explain that only people with money or went to private schools played. Mind blown!! 😂

Yes.