PALM HARBOR, FL -- Sixty-year-old John McEnroe claims he can beat Serena Williams in a one-on-one match.

The “you cannot be serious” Hall of Famer is serious, but not because he thinks tennis needs the match.

“I’m not sure if we need that to save tennis, that should be the answer, but, you know, it’s certainly been asked a lot,” McEnroe said.

Does tennis need saving? Not according to those in the know.

“I think tennis in the U.S. is very powerful right now,” four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier said. “Tournaments like the Miami Open had record crowds. The Indian Wells tournament, record crowds. U.S. Open, record crowds It’s exciting, definitely an exciting time.”

Courier, himself, can still draw a crowd. His Champions Series made a recent pit stop at the Innisbrook Resort and the Dade City native brought some of his friends, including McEnroe. They packed the stands for a good cause.

“To be able to come to some places and spread a little bit of the tennis gospel,” Courier said.

Places like the USTA National Campus in Orlando spread it every day. They offer a variety of programs to provide access to the sport for virtually everyone.

“We offer everything for any level, even total beginners,” said Kathy Woods, the USTA National Campus Director of Tennis. “The old adage that it’s a lifetime sport really rings true . It’s something that every single person can do for the rest of their life.”

“The state of tennis in the U.S. right now is really healthy,” said Craig Morris, USTA’s Chief Executive of Community Tennis. “Obviously we’ve got a fantastic tradition, but more and more parents are starting to understand how much tennis can add to their kids, getting them active, getting them outside, non-contact sport for life, so we’re really excited about the growth that we’re seeing.”

To continue that growth, kids are the key.

“We need to try to make it as accessible as possible and not enough kids get a chance to do it,” McEnroe said. “The more we can do that, the more kids that will love the game. It’s a great game.”

That’s where events like the Champions Series really help.

“Whenever you can have live professional tennis in areas it does grow the game because people get exposed to it that may not be,” Courier said.

Exposure is important, but so is getting a certain type of athlete involved. McEnroe admits tennis is on an upswing in the United States, but there needs to be a next step.

“To me, the key is to just get as many great athletes as possible playing and giving them the chance,” McEnroe said. “These guys are all very good athletes but we need the exceptional ones or get LeBron James’ son to play tennis.”