Systematic literature review
A structured search of academic databases and policy literature, screened against inclusion criteria and synthesised by sustainability theme: facilities, events, equipment, behaviour and governance.
WP2 · Research and evidenceThe evidence base
Read onThe evidence base
behind the work.
GreenTennis is a research-driven partnership. Before the guides, toolkits, training and app, we built a shared baseline through a systematic literature review, primary field research and analysis of environmental impact data across the European tennis network.
Methodological approach
How WP2 was conducted.
Four stages, designed so that the literature, the lived practice of practitioners and the operational data of facilities all inform the same evidence base.
Field study with target groups
Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with players, coaches, parents, facility staff and event organisers across the partner network, designed to capture both attitudes and operational practice.
Environmental impact data analysis
Quantitative analysis of the environmental impact data collected at National Tennis Centres and tournaments, focused on the categories where tennis can plausibly act: energy, water, materials, waste, travel.
Synthesis into a sector baseline
Findings consolidated into a shared evidence base that informs every subsequent output — the Facilities Guide, the Event Management Guide, the educational resources, the gamified programme and the carbon app.
Conceptual frameworks
The lenses we use to look at tennis.
Sustainability in sport is not a single problem. It sits at the intersection of operations, behaviour and institutions. The frameworks below shape both the questions WP2 asks and the outputs the project produces.
Circular economy
Designing tennis operations so that resources stay in use longer. Applied to balls, racquets, strings, court materials and tournament logistics through reuse, repair and responsible procurement.
Behavioural change models
Drawing on the COM-B model and habit formation theory to design educational resources, the gamified programme and the carbon app around what actually shifts behaviour rather than what merely informs.
Sustainability transitions
Treating tennis as a socio-technical system. Change happens at three levels at once: facilities and events (operational), federations and policy (institutional), players and fans (cultural).
Capability building
Pairing every guideline with a toolkit, every training with practice and every recommendation with measurement, so federations and centres are not only informed but equipped to act.
Key findings
What WP2 told us.
A short summary of the headline findings from the literature review and the field study. The full evidence, methods and data sit in the two reports below.
Measurement gap
Tennis lacks a shared baseline for facility and event environmental impact. Most centres and tournaments are not measuring energy, water, waste or travel in a comparable way.
Awareness exceeds action
Players, coaches and staff overwhelmingly say sustainability matters, but few have access to the operational tools, training or governance support that would turn intent into routine practice.
Travel dominates the footprint
For events and elite circuits, transport of players, staff and spectators is consistently the largest contributor to total emissions, ahead of energy use at the venue.
Materials cycle is broken
Tennis balls, strings and court surfaces have short useful lives in elite settings and few formal pathways for reuse or recycling. Circular practice is the lowest-hanging operational lever.
Federations are pivotal
Sector-wide change requires federations to set standards, certify centres and embed sustainability into competition rules — actions that grassroots clubs cannot take in isolation.
The reports
Read the WP2 deliverables in full.
Both reports are open access. Preview each one inline or download the PDF. Citation, attribution and re-use are welcomed under the project’s open licence.
- Download D2.1
D2.1 · WP2 · Lead UCAM
Literature Review Report
A structured review of the academic and grey literature on environmental sustainability in sport, with a specific focus on tennis. Maps what is known, what is contested and where the evidence gaps sit, to anchor the project in current knowledge.
PDF · 2.1 MB · Published 2026
- Download D2.2
D2.2 · WP2 · Lead UCAM
Field Study and Data Analysis Report
Primary research with players, coaches, facility staff and event organisers across the partner network, combined with environmental impact data from National Tennis Centres and tournaments. Translates lived practice into a baseline the sector can act on.
PDF · 7.5 MB · Published 2026
Use the evidence. Cite the work. Tell us what is missing.
The WP2 reports are written for federations, centres, researchers and policy teams. If you would like to cite, translate or extend the work, we want to hear from you.