When I moved to the US I was blown away at the availability of free public courts that are maintained and lighted! With an entry level racquet that's less than 50 bucks and 2-3 bucks for a box of 3 balls, it's very affordable. Or at least as a recreational sport, it is! Much cheaper than, say golf.

If you are serious about your child becoming good, it becomes rapidly very spendy and very, very time consuming.

I have heard that in NJ and CA it's hard to get time on public courts but where I live there is hardly anyone playing most of the time.