Tennis is a sport that has been evidenced to provide many health benefits. It is a form of physical activity that can be performed at any age. However, the sport of tennis has long been perceived as an expensive sport compared to other team sports. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has been taking action to reduce disparities in access to the sport through diversity and inclusion initiatives such as offering grants and funding to low socioeconomic status populations and minorities. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine disparities in socioeconomic status and ethnicity as it relates to tennis participation and level of play. METHODS: Level of play was captured from the USTA’s Southern California section for the year 2020, with data consisting of a sample size of an N = 32,760 participants (17,933 male, 14823 female, 4 non-disclosed). The data for level of play was grouped as follows; Team Tennis (beginner), League Players (moderate), Tournament Players (advanced). Tennis participation was objectively quantified by membership enrollment in Southern California’s USTA programs. RESULTS: Our findings revealed a 12.5-fold tennis participation rate of White (non-Hispanic) players compared to Hispanic players, a 24.5-fold tennis participation rate of White tennis players compared to African-Americans, a 5.8-fold tennis participation rate of White tennis players compared to other minorities as an aggregate, and a 2.7-fold tennis participation rate of White tennis players compared to Asian players. In addition, when considering the population demographics of Southern California, the disparity is further exasperated, particularly for the Hispanic population. Our study revealed that level of play is statistically significantly negatively correlated with socioeconomic status, p < 0.05. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study exemplify the ethnic inequality prevalent in the sport of tennis. Moreover, the socioeconomic status influence on the level of play is evident across the tiers of the level of play. Therefore, we recommend growing and supporting endeavors that promote diversity and inclusion in efforts to reduce the disparity in tennis participation and level of play.