The Raleigh Racquet Club will offer a night of free tennis clinics and demonstrations for kids and parents Monday as part of the nationwide "Tennis Night" in America event.

Organized by the U.S Tennis Association, tennis events will be taking place at more than 750 facilities across the country.

The Raleigh event will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday at the Racquet Club, 5516 Falls of Neuse Road

National Youth Registration Night will mark the first-ever coordinated national "opening day" for kids and their parents to sign up for league and team tennis play in their respective local communities. The effort is a key component of the USTA's "Tennis Night in America" on March 2, which also includes that night's winner-take-all "BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup" at New York's Madison Square Garden. The Showdown features four of the top women's players in the world-Venus and Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic and number one-ranked Jelena Jankovic-playing in a one-night, single-elimination tournament for the inaugural Billie Jean King Cup before a live national TV audience on HBO.

Tennis participation in the U.S. has grown more than any other traditional sport since 2000. According to the annual research survey conducted for the Tennis Industry Association and the USTA by the Taylor Research Group, nearly 26.9 million people played tennis in 2008, the highest number of participants in 15 years. That marked a seven percent increase over the prior year and an increase of more than 30% since 2000. In addition, the number of new tennis players increased by three percent last year, to more than 5.9 million.

For more information on National Youth Registration Night activities at the Raleigh Racquet Club, please contact Marc Blouin - (919) 876-0565.