tennis NEWS

Real Tennis Online to Receive Major Upgrade; Stats Show Current Health of the Game

As the T&RA recently reported, Real Tennis will see some major changes this upcoming season with adjustments to the handicap system, which you can read more about here. But that’s not the only big change coming: Real Tennis Online (RTO) is also in the midst of a major transformation, headed by Ben Geytenbeek. Some pages have already been deployed in a trial fashion in the first half of the year, and the full upgrade will come into effect on Saturday, 1 August. 

WHY IS RTO BEING UPGRADED?

The digital world has changed dramatically since RTO was created in 2001. Since that time, many RTO users have transitioned from using computers and laptops to using phones and tablets to conduct activity on the site.

Making RTO more mobile-friendly was a key decision in instigating the upgrade, but more importantly, the code that was used to build the original RTO is no longer supported, which necessitated the change. In addition, it became apparent to members, clubs and associations that there was a need to refresh some of the capabilities of RTO, as well the overall look, which had become quite dated.

WHAT CHANGES CAN USERS EXPECT?

The rollout of the new RTO has already begun with some of the lesser used system admin pages and match admin pages already made live. The odds calculator has been live for about three months, and some users have already started exploring these new pages. Additionally, users will enjoy an expanded statistical package, allowing them to track their performances across different courts, opponents and years. You can also see the results of the current live matches and recent matches on the sidebar, which are fed into RTO directly from the markers’ tablets during events. 

Clubs will be able to access an expanded membership dashboard and systems, making it easier to manage their membership register. The new RTO Booking system will then follow with much-improved finance integration, with a new all-encompassing tournament management suite thereafter that links administrators and players, whereby administrators receive tournament entries through the site, are able to automatically generate draws, send players match time reminders and manage the tournament overall. An added feature to this is that because RTO recognizes users’ handicaps, ages and other tournament-relevant information, it will be able to automatically generate pop ups that notify players of upcoming events they’re eligible to play in, which will help encourage participation across the board.

HOW WAS THE DESIGN FOR THE NEW RTO CHOSEN?

Ben and his team worked with HelloMorning founder Jamie Craven, who helped T&RA with its rebrand, to design the look and feel of the new RTO. It was important to the team to strike a balance that was neither too juvenile nor too senile. “We're not a sport like Ultimate Frisbee where it's all about getting the counterculture youth. That's not what Real Tennis and Rackets is about,” Ben explains. “But the game already suffers from the stigmatism of being stuffy, so you don't want to go down that route either, so we needed to strike a balance in between, while also not stepping on any existing Real Tennis branding.” Together Ben, Jamie and their teams went through a number of different designs and eventually landed on a theme centered around the green tennis ball logo you can see on the new pages, which is fresh, modern and an embodiment of the current game.

HEALTH OF THE GAME: RTO STATISTICS

The end of the season gives an opportunity to appraise the global health of the game, based on recorded RTO results across the season. Overall, the news is positive, with the 2025/26 season set to record the largest number of active players globally recording matches for any season this century, with over 4,800 players recording a result since August 2025, including 550 women.

The number of matches recorded is set to be the highest in a decade — albeit below the high watermark set in 2010. The biggest change has been the opening of the new court in Sydney, recording its first full year of data. However, Newmarket and Newport have impressed, each recording 50% more matches year-on-year. Oxford, Melbourne, Queen’s, Wellington, Manchester, Lord’s and Leamington also saw double-digit percentage increases, while decreases were generally seen at clubs that have had turnover in their professional roster in the last 12 months.

The outstanding area of concern is the general aging of the Real Tennis player base, with the median age of active players now 53 — up from 47 in 2005. Under-25 participation is a real concern, having fallen from its 2015/16 peak at 16.1% of active players to an all-time low of 11.3%. The decline is consistent across countries, and should be a key focus for all clubs and administrators over the coming years.