Tennis

 

Brits have a great passion for tennis! People of all ages play this fun, active sport on a regular basis.

Tennis is a participant sport, but it has gained popularity as a spectator sport, too.

Hundreds of thousands of people from various countries visit the UK to watch Wimbledon, one of the most famous tennis tournaments in the world.

Wimbledon has been an integral part of UK sport since 1877.

BBC reports that the 2022 Wimbledon tennis tournament broke previous viewership records, with over 53 million streams on various channels.

While young individuals take a keen interest in tennis, people over 60 are among the most enthusiastic fans.

According to Tennis Creative, around 12% of the population, or 3 million people, play tennis in the UK.

8. Boxing

Just like in the US, boxing has millions of fans across the UK.

Boxing is a trendy and unusual sport, as it connects people through emotions, wild fights, unpredictable manoeuvres and unexpected endings.

This hype is one of the primary reasons behind boxing’s popularity in the UK.

Previously, boxing was among the top 5 most popular sports in the UK.

However, recent studies report that only 493,000 people participate in this sport annually, meaning the number of participants has declined.

Despite this, Britain has more than 1,000 boxing clubs and children also practice boxing at school level.

9. Swimming

The health-conscious people of the UK love swimming, as it is a cardiovascular workout that improves overall wellbeing.

Over 2 million people swim on a regular basis, whether for fun, domestic-level tournaments or national events.

Competitive swimming is popular in the UK.

Thousands of professional players participate in events, including backstroke, butterfly, freestyle, breaststroke and individual medley.