MPH Student Tackles Louisiana's Tennis Desert Problem

You’ve heard of food deserts and healthcare deserts, but have you considered the possibility of a tennis desert?

Second-year Master of Public Health student in Community Health Sciences Crystal Reynolds-Cossé certainly has. And even better, she’s doing something to combat the problem with her project “Tennis Oasis.”

Although relatively little research has examined the impact of activity deserts, the problem is the same as an absence of healthcare providers or affordable nutritious food. People need activity as a part of maintaining good health.

A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine tracked the long-term health impact of various sports and found that tennis had the greatest correlation to a longer life span. Those who regularly played racket sports – including but not limited to tennis – had a 47% lower chance of all-cause mortality than those who didn’t exercise.

Another study in Denmark showed that people who played tennis could be expected to live 9.7 years longer than those who didn't exercise. Compared to something like running (3.2 years' benefit), tennis comes out as an activity worth advancing among the population. 

“People living in activity deserts don't have many resources to be able to live their best, healthiest lives,” Cossé says. “Kids need that outlet, and adults need that outlet too.”

Per the U.S. Census Bureau, there are over 730,000 youth in Louisiana aged 6 to 17, yet in more than a third of the state’s parishes (22 of 64) there’s no public place to play tennis -- a clear opportunity to make an impact.

“You do have to ask: What's the reason why more people aren't participating in a sport?” Cossé posed. “Particularly one that is so healthy that you can play from a very young age to a very old age.”

In Louisiana, the lack of infrastructure to support the sport points to a clear, addressable reason.

Using the same methodology for identifying healthcare deserts, Cossé mapped where underserved youth are structurally blocked from progressing through the tennis pipeline.

The mapping found areas with particularly limited access such as Evangeline, St. Helena, and Plaquemines parishes. But the problem is far-reaching. Unlike many other parts of the country, there are several areas in Louisiana that simply have no tennis activity at all.

Oasis’s own mapping, cross-checked against the United States Tennis Association (USTA) public facility finder, verified these deserts. For example, in Evangeline Parish, USTA’s facility finder lists no courts within the parish. The nearest are about 16 miles away in a neighboring parish.

Through this work, Cossé has begun important conversations about community access, untapped talent in under-resourced areas, and what it looks like when public health frameworks are applied to spaces not traditionally considered in the health paradigm.

More importantly, the tool can empower communities to make tangible change on their own. Her data weighs tennis court supply alongside population data, recognizing social vulnerability, to determine where the most good can be done on a dollar-by-dollar basis.

In other words, tennis leadership doesn’t have to guess where to invest to unlock the largest number of players per dollar.

“It's really just assessing the whole ecosystem or lack of ecosystem within certain communities and seeing what's available and what should be invested,” Cossé explains. “And it could be just as simple as literally pulling kids out and saying, ‘Hey, we want to introduce you to tennis,’ so that at least we know the interest is there -- and then we can start to build from there.”

Cossé recently attended the U.S. Open in New York to present findings from her work at the USTA Connect Innovation Challenge. Although her proposal didn’t win the competition, she did come away with an invitation from the CEO of USTA Mid-Atlantic to pilot the tool in her section.

The USTA -- which earlier this year announced that U.S. tennis participation reached 27.3 million players in 2025 -- is hoping to unlock 35 million players by 2035. And Louisiana provides a tremendous opportunity for growth for the sport. 

“Louisiana already produces nationally ranked juniors — the ability is here. What’s missing isn’t talent; it’s access.”

Because of this uncultivated talent, Cossé is piloting her program in Louisiana in addition to the pilot program in the Mid-Atlantic region.

For Cossé, growing tennis isn’t just a health initiative, it’s also a passion project. She developed her own love for tennis in her 20s, an age too late to find competitive success at a high level. 

Her experience, however, prompted her to wonder how things could have been different had she discovered tennis earlier – to address the situation so she can help children avoid that same fate and be able to discover their own passion earlier.

“We’re just getting started, but there is exciting work ahead of us.”