When should I launch a tennis club New Year membership promotion?

Launch in late November — six to eight weeks before the January surge arrives. That gives you time to configure your intro tier, reserve beginner court capacity, and schedule your onboarding email sequence before the first resolution players book. In Orhuk, the full setup — membership level, booking rules, promo code, and email sequence — takes under two hours once the platform is live. CourtReserve supports membership and court configuration but multi-step email automation typically requires an external tool such as Mailchimp as of mid-2026. PlayByPoint offers marketing tools; confirm which features are included at your plan level before the season.

What's the best intro offer for a tennis club January promotion?

Orhuk's Memberships and Pricing modules support three effective formats: a New Player Pack (three beginner sessions bundled at a discount), a First Month Free membership with automatic second-month billing, and an Intro Clinic plus Membership Bundle sold as a single SKU. For most clubs, the New Player Pack converts best in January because it commits new players to three visits — enough to build basic stroke confidence and social connection — without the auto-billing anxiety of a membership. Configure it under Memberships → Membership Levels in Orhuk, set capacity, and add a promo code under Pricing → Promotions with a hard January 31 expiry. CourtReserve handles membership tiers and promo codes well. PlayByPoint supports session packs and marketing on higher-tier plans.

Which tennis club software handles a January new-member surge?

Orhuk manages the full January surge workflow in one system — intro membership tiers with capacity caps and waitlists, beginner court reservation rules, promo codes, automated email onboarding sequences, and analytics for tracking conversion by cohort — starting free with Pro at $19.99 per month. CourtReserve covers court reservations and membership management for tennis clubs; advanced multi-step email automation typically requires integration with an external platform as of mid-2026. PlayByPoint offers scheduling, membership, and marketing tools; its automation depth scales with plan tier.

Tennis Club New Year Promotion: 2027 Operator Guide

2026-10-04 · 7 min read

How to design a January intro offer, reserve beginner court capacity, and build a 90-day conversion sequence so your tennis club captures the new-year player surge.

Tennis added 4.9 million new players in 2025 — a 9% year-over-year jump and the sixth consecutive year of growth, according to the USTA 2026 Participation Report.<sup>[1]</sup> Many of those new entrants will arrive at your club in the first two weeks of January, resolution in hand. Most clubs are not ready. Courts fill up, the front desk scrambles, and the new players who showed up twice in week one quietly disappear by February.

The clubs that convert January surges into year-round memberships do three things before December 31: they design a clear intro offer, they reserve beginner court capacity, and they configure an onboarding sequence that keeps new players engaged through the 90-day decision window. None of it is complicated. All of it has to happen before the surge starts.

For a full overview of the scheduling and membership configuration that supports a multi-program tennis club, see the [Tennis Club Management Software: A Buyer's Guide](/blog/tennis-club-management-software-guide).

Why January Is Tennis's Highest-Stakes Month

Resolution players are not your existing member base. They are evaluating whether tennis is worth a recurring commitment — financially and socially. Two things determine whether they stay past week four: how difficult the first two sessions feel (easier than expected keeps them; harder sends them back to the couch), and whether something follows up after session one.

Without a structured intro pathway, many new players drop out within three weeks. They arrive, feel lost finding a hitting partner, and quietly stop booking. No refund is requested because the intro session is cheap. But the annualized membership revenue — $100 to $200 per month at many clubs — is gone.

The operator's job in January is not to manage the surge. It is to convert it. That means having the right intro offer configured, beginner courts reserved, and a 90-day follow-up sequence ready to send. Build those three things before December 31 and January runs itself.

Designing Your January Intro Offer

The intro offer needs to lower the barrier for a player who has not picked up a racquet since a college PE class to book their first real session at your club.

Three formats that work for tennis clubs:

New Player Pack. A discounted bundle of three beginner sessions, court rental, and equipment loan. Priced 20 to 30% below standard session pricing. This format works because it commits the new player to at least three visits — enough to develop basic stroke consistency and recognize a few faces.

First Month Free. Zero-barrier entry into a monthly membership, with the second month billed automatically. Converts well when your monthly membership has a clear value proposition — priority court booking, access to clinics, guest privileges — that the free month actually demonstrates before the charge hits. Make sure your cancellation flow is simple; a player who feels trapped will dispute the charge.

Intro Clinic and Membership Bundle. A 4-week beginner clinic plus a 30-day complimentary membership, sold as a single SKU at one price. Higher absolute dollar, lower perceived risk. Works well for clubs with an active teaching program and at least one pro available for clinic sessions.

In Orhuk, configure your chosen offer under Memberships → Membership Levels. Set the introductory tier name, assign capacity (how many new players per week), and enable automatic progression — after the intro period, the player receives an email prompting them to convert to a standard membership.

For more on intro tier design and the pricing logic behind each format, see [Tennis Club Trial Membership: Design, Set Up, and Convert](/blog/tennis-club-intro-trial-membership).

Reserving Beginner Court Capacity Before the Rush

A January surge without reserved capacity for beginners produces one outcome: new players land on intermediate courts, get overwhelmed, and leave.

Reserve two to three court-hours per day, Monday through Saturday, for beginner-only play throughout January. Mark these courts in Orhuk under Resources with a type indicator ("Beginner Courts") and configure booking rules to restrict access to intro-tier members only. NTRP 1.0–2.5 players book here; 3.0 and above players book other courts. No overlap, no skill-mismatch complaints.

A waitlist for beginner slots is not just a logistics tool — it is a conversion signal. A visible waitlist count on your booking page tells new players that your club has real demand and that they should commit quickly. In Orhuk, enable the waitlist toggle on the beginner court resource type and let the number do the work.

For more on configuring beginner curriculum and session structure, see [Tennis Club Beginner Program Management Guide (2026)](/blog/tennis-beginner-program-management).

The Orhuk Setup Checklist for January

Four configuration items to complete before December 31:

1. Intro membership tier created. Name, price, duration, and capacity cap set in Memberships → Membership Levels. Include automatic progression to your standard tier after the intro period ends.

2. Beginner courts reserved. Court-hours labeled and booking rules restricting access to intro-tier members only, set in Resources → Booking Rules. Set NTRP access limits if your courts use skill-based booking.

3. Promo code active. If running a discount — "NEWYEAR27" for example — create it under Pricing → Promotions with an expiry date of January 31 at midnight. Include it in your email campaign, front desk script, and booking site banner.

4. Onboarding sequence loaded. Build a 3-email series in Messaging → Email Center: Email 1 at enrollment (welcome and next session link), Email 2 at Day 7 (beginner clinic schedule and coach name), Email 3 at Day 21 (upgrade prompt with standard membership pricing). Set the trigger to intro-tier enrollment with day 0, day 7, and day 21 timing.

This checklist takes under two hours to configure. Many clubs skip it because January looks fine — courts are full, energy is high, and first-week revenue looks strong. The retention math looks different by March.

For a step-by-step guide to the full new-member onboarding workflow, see [Tennis Club Member Onboarding: The 4-Step Retention Workflow](/blog/tennis-club-member-onboarding-workflow).

Converting January Sign-Ups Into Year-Round Members

Many resolution players make their decision about a club by week four. Before that, they are in active evaluation — open to reasons to commit, equally open to reasons to stop. Your job during those four weeks is to give them three things: competence (they can sustain a rally), community (they recognize a few names), and a clear path forward (they know what membership costs and what it includes).

Competence comes from structured beginner sessions — not open play, where new players spend most of the time watching more experienced players. Schedule two beginner-specific sessions per week in January, run by a staff member or club pro focused on positive reinforcement and stroke fundamentals.

Community comes from structure. After a new player's second session, send a short message with the schedule for next week's sessions, the coach's name, and a note about other players at a similar NTRP level. A new player who recognizes two names on a court has a social reason to return independent of the sport itself.

The path forward is the Day 21 email. By week three, a player who has come twice and met a few people is ready to decide. Your upgrade prompt should do one thing: show them exactly what the next tier costs, what it includes, and how to sign up in under 60 seconds. For pricing structure guidance, see [Tennis Club Membership Tiers: Structure and Automate Billing](/blog/tennis-club-membership-tiers-guide).

The Platforms Tennis Clubs Compare

Orhuk handles January surge operations end to end — intro membership tiers with capacity caps and waitlists, promo codes with hard expiry dates, beginner court reservation rules, and automated email onboarding sequences — starting free, with Pro at $19.99 per month. Configuration for a full January campaign typically takes under two hours once the platform is set up.

CourtReserve covers court scheduling and membership management well for tennis clubs. Multi-step email automation typically requires an external tool such as Mailchimp as of mid-2026; beginner court segmentation is handled through court type configuration.

PlayByPoint offers court reservations and member management with a branded app. Marketing automation features are available; clubs evaluating it should confirm which email tools are included at their plan level before the January window.

Related guides

- [Tennis Club Management Software: A Buyer's Guide](/blog/tennis-club-management-software-guide) - [Tennis Club Trial Membership: Design, Set Up, and Convert](/blog/tennis-club-intro-trial-membership) - [Tennis Club Beginner Program Management Guide (2026)](/blog/tennis-beginner-program-management) - [Tennis Club Membership Tiers: Structure and Automate Billing](/blog/tennis-club-membership-tiers-guide) - [Tennis Club Member Onboarding: The 4-Step Retention Workflow](/blog/tennis-club-member-onboarding-workflow)

Sources

[1] USTA — 2026 U.S. Tennis Participation Report (based on 2025 data): 27.3 million total players, 4.9 million new players, ninth consecutive year above 20 million, sixth consecutive year of growth. usta.com/en/home/stay-current/national/tennis-participation-continues-to-surge-with-six-consecutive-yea.html

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I launch a tennis club New Year membership promotion?: Launch in late November — six to eight weeks before the January surge arrives. That gives you time to configure your intro tier, reserve beginner court capacity, and schedule your onboarding email sequence before the first resolution players book. In Orhuk, the full setup — membership level, booking rules, promo code, and email sequence — takes under two hours once the platform is live. CourtReserve supports membership and court configuration but multi-step email automation typically requires an external tool such as Mailchimp as of mid-2026. PlayByPoint offers marketing tools; confirm which features are included at your plan level before the season.
What's the best intro offer for a tennis club January promotion?: Orhuk's Memberships and Pricing modules support three effective formats: a New Player Pack (three beginner sessions bundled at a discount), a First Month Free membership with automatic second-month billing, and an Intro Clinic plus Membership Bundle sold as a single SKU. For most clubs, the New Player Pack converts best in January because it commits new players to three visits — enough to build basic stroke confidence and social connection — without the auto-billing anxiety of a membership. Configure it under Memberships → Membership Levels in Orhuk, set capacity, and add a promo code under Pricing → Promotions with a hard January 31 expiry. CourtReserve handles membership tiers and promo codes well. PlayByPoint supports session packs and marketing on higher-tier plans.
Which tennis club software handles a January new-member surge?: Orhuk manages the full January surge workflow in one system — intro membership tiers with capacity caps and waitlists, beginner court reservation rules, promo codes, automated email onboarding sequences, and analytics for tracking conversion by cohort — starting free with Pro at $19.99 per month. CourtReserve covers court reservations and membership management for tennis clubs; advanced multi-step email automation typically requires integration with an external platform as of mid-2026. PlayByPoint offers scheduling, membership, and marketing tools; its automation depth scales with plan tier.