What type of fan does tennis need now?
- Thread starter ffw2
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ffw2
Hall of Fame
Just the sort I had in mind.
Those willing to spin mediocrity as something magnificent.
El_Yotamo
Hall of Fame
ffw2
Hall of Fame
goldengate14
Professional
Best of five set fans as the best of five set format is in real danger sadly
Kralingen
Talk Tennis Guru
One with both a healthy respect, and disdain, for the past.
We need someone who can respect and understand the once great impact on the world this sport had, the all time greats underpinning its success,
and at the same time, a disdain for the past as being not as important as the here and now and future of the sport.
Too many fans fall into the first bracket while not being able to bridge the gap to the other, and have no interest in following the sport as it moves forward.
We need someone who can respect and understand the once great impact on the world this sport had, the all time greats underpinning its success,
and at the same time, a disdain for the past as being not as important as the here and now and future of the sport.
Too many fans fall into the first bracket while not being able to bridge the gap to the other, and have no interest in following the sport as it moves forward.
ffw2
Hall of Fame
So many rejected applicants, I fear.
Who's to blame for the bandwagon phenomenon, in your view?
Kralingen
Talk Tennis Guru
I go between blaming:So many rejected applicants, I fear.
Who's to blame for the bandwagon phenomenon, in your view?
(the big 3) - Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic in descending order.
(the players who are supposed to replace them) - Tsitsipas, Thiem, Kyrgios, Shapovalov, and Zverev for being rather useless and/or difficult to root for
But mostly I blame the USTA as one American star could have saved the entire lot of this.
ChaelAZ
G.O.A.T.
Just watch the WTA for a bit while the ATP sorts themselves out. Bettwe competition, lots of bright new faces along with joureny women make for some exciting play and personalities. At least in my books.
ATP will drop for a few years I think before someone can really be seen as a stand out. Just a lot of players in the same space, with the same game and such right now.
ATP will drop for a few years I think before someone can really be seen as a stand out. Just a lot of players in the same space, with the same game and such right now.
ffw2
Hall of Fame
Ain't that the truth.
Didn't have to be this way.
Distance usually does help.
Thing is... if the men's Tour loses audience support, they may resort to compensatory "sideshow" type tactics. Probably a shame for everyone concerned.
I’m probably in the minority who find the current state of affairs very intriguing and exciting. The slam race, old vs young, two old guys trying to make a comeback and a third old guy hanging on by the skin of his teeth, new rivalries developing, toilet breaks and MTOs, it’s all great for tennis. The scenario could be made into a very good movie.
ChaelAZ
G.O.A.T.
ffw2
Hall of Fame
I mean, there's still a certain level of theatricality.
You pumped for whatever's in store for a couple of years down the road tho?
Swingmaster
Hall of Fame
Fans who cheer for drop shots and lobs.
Harry_Wild
G.O.A.T.
Rich type fans! No corporations that buys out the closest prime seats around the stadiums and nobody is at the matches! Makes TV coverage look like it an empty stadium.
ffw2
Hall of Fame
I mean, I wouldn't be here if I thought there was absolutely nothing compelling about it all.
But I'm not really sure what they're going to be targeting really.
There's still huge money on offer. But you have to wonder whether the well's gonna start drying up.
ScentOfDefeat
G.O.A.T.
It will be a better, more honest time to be a tennis fan once those three retire.
ffw2
Hall of Fame
Better or worse than before they arrived on the scene, in your opinion?
To be honest, you cannot expect to see any new player with Federer’s tennis quality in the next couple of years. However, even though Nadal and Djokovic enjoy tennis god status among the fans, if you want to be honest about it, their tennis isn’t technically any better than the best of the young guys. They are not as clutch but the tennis quality isn’t bad at all. I can enjoy a match between say Tsitsipas and Medvedev equally as much as I would enjoy a match involving one of the big 3.
ScentOfDefeat
G.O.A.T.
We'll see.
I'm definitely curious to see what it'll bring.
But the early 90's (when I started watching) are hard to beat, in my humble opinion.
Kralingen
Talk Tennis Guru
Yes agreed. Tsitsipas and Zverev are equal talents to Djokovic and Nadal, who are nothing special really.
it’s a miracle those older guys have any Slams at all.
You can be a multiple slam winner without having a flashy style. Nadal and Djokovic are undeniably great champions but style wise they are not dramatically better from the current top 5. No one has the shot making and aesthetics of Federer but let’s face it, that doesn’t guarantee you winning slams. He’s the only player I would miss to be honest.
Kralingen
Talk Tennis Guru
Djoko I can agree with, though it’s clear when you watch him, even in a random match, you’re watching a higher level of tennis than Zverev or even Medvedev are capable of producing. Something about his shot selection, movement, and return targets. of course on a high level he’s not that unique.
Nadal though - for better or worse, I can’t think of anyone like him on tour at the moment. Left-handedness is a large factor but he has a very distinctive style and look on the court, especially his younger self, that stands apart and jumps off the screen even to a casual fan.
As for Fed, we still have Dimitrov and Shapo right?
spottishwood
Hall of Fame
We just need more trolls.
You must be kidding about Dimitrov and ShapovalovDjoko I can agree with, though it’s clear when you watch him, even in a random match, you’re watching a higher level of tennis than Zverev or even Medvedev are capable of producing. Something about his shot selection, movement, and return targets. of course on a high level he’s not that unique.
Nadal though - for better or worse, I can’t think of anyone like him on tour at the moment. Left-handedness is a large factor but he has a very distinctive style and look on the court, especially his younger self, that stands apart and jumps off the screen even to a casual fan.
As for Fed, we still have Dimitrov and Shapo right?
ffw2
Hall of Fame
This bit is endlessly interesting to me.
In its essence, I do agree with you.
But why "next couple of years," specifically? Almost seems arbitrary. Is tennis going to experience some sort of renaissance and suddenly attract the best athletes?
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
We need more obessessive fans.. fans that will follow players everywhere they go,, and form groupies and so on. and follow them to every tournaments and cheering for them
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Actually in america, tennis dying out. I am seeing even the hard core tennis players playing less and less. In europe, i think it is still popular. but europeans should worry as well cause if popularity declines in america, it will definitely affect tennis in europe as well
Poisoned Slice
Bionic Poster
I'm reminded of this picture.Djoko I can agree with, though it’s clear when you watch him, even in a random match, you’re watching a higher level of tennis than Zverev or even Medvedev are capable of producing. Something about his shot selection, movement, and return targets. of course on a high level he’s not that unique.
Nadal though - for better or worse, I can’t think of anyone like him on tour at the moment. Left-handedness is a large factor but he has a very distinctive style and look on the court, especially his younger self, that stands apart and jumps off the screen even to a casual fan.
As for Fed, we still have Dimitrov and Shapo right?
Kralingen
Talk Tennis Guru
I say this because I see that none of the existing players has the potential to match Federer’s virtuosity in the future. However, I like to keep my mind open to new upcoming talent that we haven’t seen yet.
This said, my gut feeling is that it’s a very unlikely scenario to happen. Federer has no equal in the entire history of tennis. No one ever came close to his level in the past, and therefore I doubt we will ever see anyone like him in the future, but I will keep an open mind.
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Start da Game
Hall of Fame
people who post on tennis forums do not represent even 1% of regular tennis audiences and fans.......we are forming our opinions based on that <1%.......tennis always had all types of fans, young and old alike.......no player will ever be bigger than the sport itself or the audience without whose support they would never be superstars.......
Well, kids will eventually be 61 and will actually have money to support their sport. No benefit whatsoever from trying to attract young viewers. Young is a very short period of time. Being old constitutes the longest period of ones life.
ffw2
Hall of Fame
Well, I sense irony in your comment (and forgive me if I'm mistaken).
I recognize the persisting value of appealing to youth, first.
But I'm really wondering whether the approach might have to be more personality-based, rather than straight demographics.
I was partly joking of course, but only partly. Tennis should be made attractive to young athletes, I guess that’s obvious. But fans and spectators don’t have to be young. Appreciating tennis needs a certain maturity, just like appreciating a fine wine or classical music. Young people are attracted to other more exciting sports like mixed martial arts or football. They don’t have the patience to watch a slow and time consuming sport such as tennis. Older people have the money, they can afford to pay for tournament tickets and other tennis stuff, and they have the time. It’s like at my photography club, where most members are 50+ and 40 is considered young, because this is the age where people have the money to afford expensive digital cameras and lenses. I’m talking from pure business perspective. Of course I would love for young people to be interested in tennis but if I was the person in charge, I wouldn’t put all my efforts in it.
S
Slicehand
Guest
they need fans that play tennis, just like it has always been, promote tennis around the world, put down prices on equipment, balls, courts.... everything cheap and easy and free lessons in parks and...
James P
G.O.A.T.
I thought tennis was pretty lame when I was younger. Once I sat through a couple matches and started understanding the basics of tennis strategy, that's when it dawned on me this is a brilliant sport.
ffw2
Hall of Fame
Great points.
Thing about this circumstance is that it seems almost unprecedented.
While some elements of marketing will remain the same, I feel as if a completely novel approach may be required.
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