I was dropping my oldest daughter off at her first tennis lesson today at one of the local country clubs and I started to wonder how tennis became a "country club" sport. You look at the evolution of basketball - those who had less money played it well because they had access to courts in the parks, and balls were cheap. You look at the evolution of equine events - it's expensive to own horses, so it's done by those who have more money.

So how did tennis, a sport where course are available in the parks, and racquets cost around $20 to start with (now, I think the most basic racquet back when I worked in a sporting goods store and they were MORE expensive was about $40, still not a bank-breaking amount) and balls are cheap, become something offered in the country club venue?

My thought is it must come down to lessons. Tennis is a hard sport in which to learn finesse, aiming shots, understanding scoring, serving, volleying, etc etc, without instruction. My speculation is that's where the money comes in.