Anyone else feel uncomfortable about Laver Cup?

K

Kralingen

Bionic Poster
I just can’t shake this disquieting feeling watching this year’s Laver Cup. It’s a little sickening watching a bunch of multi-millionaire top players and of course the world’s absolute richest in Federer line their already deep pockets like this. It’s the final Sunday and spectators are going to get 2 low quality doubles matches in exchange for their $250+ seats.

Laver Cup is an ATP-sanctioned, yet completely uncompetitive (and non-inclusive, male only) exho for the world’s richest players, who make nearly a million in appearance fees.. when you see it juxtaposed with this week’s ATP 250s and WTA 500 winners making <$50k for winning it is pretty tough to observe.

The dichotomy couldn’t be more pronounced. It’s great for the top players, I suppose, but for me it simply highlights the growing division between the haves and have nots in tennis and feels hollow and greedy.

Thoughts?
 
Kralingen said:
I just can’t shake this disquieting feeling watching this year’s Laver Cup. It’s a little sickening watching a bunch of multi-millionaire top players and of course the world’s absolute richest in Federer line their already deep pockets like this. It’s the final Sunday and spectators are going to get 2 low quality doubles matches in exchange for their $250+ seats.

Laver Cup is an ATP-sanctioned, yet completely uncompetitive (and non-inclusive, male only) exho for the world’s richest players, who make nearly a million in appearance fees.. when you see it juxtaposed with this week’s ATP 250s and WTA 500 winners making <$50k for winning it is pretty tough to observe.

The dichotomy couldn’t be more pronounced. It’s great for the top players, I suppose, but for me it simply highlights the growing division between the haves and have nots in tennis and feels hollow and greedy.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Sounds like a job for Djoker and Pospisil
 
They really need a draft to make the teams more balanced at the very least. It’s no fun watching the Monstars beat up on the Toon Squad (n)

monstars-fight.gif
 
Kralingen said:
Eh I remain unconvinced by the PTPA for a number of reasons, namely the fact that they have yet to actually propose anything concrete lol.

I certainly can understand the sentiments behind it though, a day like today highlighting them perfectly.
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Djolovic is spot on with his reasoning just needs to devise a better plan. Guy is a class act though taking it tonhe establishment.
 
Tennis is part of the entertainment industry. The top guys get paid a lot because they make money for tournament organizers and help the branding of the advertisers/sponsors. Others get paid less if they don’t attract as many fans, advertisers, sponsors etc. It is just capitalism at work.

As the consumer, you can control what entertainment you partake of. I’ve watched a total of about 4 Laver Cup matches since it started years ago since I consider it an uninteresting exhibition with maybe even an unspoken understanding to lose the second set after winning the first set in many matches.

There is no fairness in sport when it is a blockbuster revenue source for many companies and organizations.
 
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I watched shapos match because it was on and i almost cried, i dont know if europe vs world is the right match up, but i dont care about the money, if it was less they would play worse or even wouldnt show up, so thats good for us, much worse people around the world getting richer with worse things
 
Kralingen said:
I just can’t shake this disquieting feeling watching this year’s Laver Cup. It’s a little sickening watching a bunch of multi-millionaire top players and of course the world’s absolute richest in Federer line their already deep pockets like this. It’s the final Sunday and spectators are going to get 2 low quality doubles matches in exchange for their $250+ seats.

Laver Cup is an ATP-sanctioned, yet completely uncompetitive (and non-inclusive, male only) exho for the world’s richest players, who make nearly a million in appearance fees.. when you see it juxtaposed with this week’s ATP 250s and WTA 500 winners making <$50k for winning it is pretty tough to observe.

The dichotomy couldn’t be more pronounced. It’s great for the top players, I suppose, but for me it simply highlights the growing division between the haves and have nots in tennis and feels hollow and greedy.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I don’t think many players on either team command $1,000,000 appearance fees. Maybe Zverev & Medvedev? Certainly no one on Team World.

As for the 250s, one was in Kazakhstan with 20 people in the stands. Both finalists were journeymen 95% of tennis fans have prob never heard of. The one in Metz seemed ok but Monfils was the only big attraction. You’ll never get sponsors to put up big money for these events.
 
Kralingen said:
Eh I remain unconvinced by the PTPA for a number of reasons, namely the fact that they have yet to actually propose anything concrete lol.

I certainly can understand the sentiments behind it though, a day like today highlighting them perfectly.
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Bro I'm with you haha. Was being sarcastic. PTPA is just Djoker's version of Laver Cup on an even bigger scale.
 
Kralingen said:
I just can’t shake this disquieting feeling watching this year’s Laver Cup. It’s a little sickening watching a bunch of multi-millionaire top players and of course the world’s absolute richest in Federer line their already deep pockets like this. It’s the final Sunday and spectators are going to get 2 low quality doubles matches in exchange for their $250+ seats.

Laver Cup is an ATP-sanctioned, yet completely uncompetitive (and non-inclusive, male only) exho for the world’s richest players, who make nearly a million in appearance fees.. when you see it juxtaposed with this week’s ATP 250s and WTA 500 winners making <$50k for winning it is pretty tough to observe.

The dichotomy couldn’t be more pronounced. It’s great for the top players, I suppose, but for me it simply highlights the growing division between the haves and have nots in tennis and feels hollow and greedy.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I would only watch it if a Kyrgios tantrum is guaranteed.
 
If the format dictates that only a small number of players can participate, then it is up to those lower ranked players to up their games in order to get in. With regard to appearance fees, it’s no different to most other non-masters level tournaments that want to attract names.
 
I mean I'd say for the casual fan it's probably about as good as tennis gets. For the more hardcore fan it can be an amusing aside, and for the people organizing I would assume a pretty big success. The part about people buying tickets for the final day and then seeing crap is a fair point, but that's the risk you run (which I'm sure most know) when they pay, and it's certainly not specific to the Laver Cup :D Same thing would happen in the old Davis Cup, same thing happens in football games or basketball games when teams decide to rest their starters, it happens in tennis all the time! Imagine how many people probably got tickets to the womens US Open final in 2015 hoping to see their hero go for the grand slam, and instead they got Flavs and Vinci.
 
Kralingen said:
I just can’t shake this disquieting feeling watching this year’s Laver Cup. It’s a little sickening watching a bunch of multi-millionaire top players and of course the world’s absolute richest in Federer line their already deep pockets like this. It’s the final Sunday and spectators are going to get 2 low quality doubles matches in exchange for their $250+ seats.

Laver Cup is an ATP-sanctioned, yet completely uncompetitive (and non-inclusive, male only) exho for the world’s richest players, who make nearly a million in appearance fees.. when you see it juxtaposed with this week’s ATP 250s and WTA 500 winners making <$50k for winning it is pretty tough to observe.

The dichotomy couldn’t be more pronounced. It’s great for the top players, I suppose, but for me it simply highlights the growing division between the haves and have nots in tennis and feels hollow and greedy.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Yes.....my thought is YOU'RE WATCHING IT so I guess they're giving you what you want. So what exactly sickens you? That the top players make the top money? Oh well.
(Laver Cup interests me not a bit, have watched none of it, some good football games to see this weekend)
 
ollinger said:
Yes.....my thought is YOU'RE WATCHING IT so I guess they're giving you what you want. So what exactly sickens you? That the top players make the top money? Oh well.
(Laver Cup interests me not a bit, have watched none of it, some good football games to see this weekend)
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Yes, we’re watching because we don’t have anything better to do, but we reserve our right to diss it.
 
Team Europe is just too dominant this year, if they didn't have all the best players it'd probably be fun. Isner, Shapovalov, Kyrgios just aren't in good enough form right now. And the best doubles player didn't even make the team (Sock). Felix is the only player I expect to win any matches.
 
Zetty said:
Team Europe is just too dominant this year, if they didn't have all the best players it'd probably be fun. Isner, Shapovalov, Kyrgios just aren't in good enough form right now. And the best doubles player didn't even make the team (Sock). Felix is the only player I expect to win any matches.
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New ideas for teams building:
Servebots vs The World
Grinders vs The World
Chokers vs The World
Overhyped vs The World
 
TopspintheTerrible said:
I don’t think many players on either team command $1,000,000 appearance fees. Maybe Zverev & Medvedev? Certainly no one on Team World.

As for the 250s, one was in Kazakhstan with 20 people in the stands. Both finalists were journeymen 95% of tennis fans have prob never heard of. The one in Metz seemed ok but Monfils was the only big attraction. You’ll never get sponsors to put up big money for these events.
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Yeah, it is an uncomfortable view of the reality of supply and demand. I don’t know how the smaller 250s actually break even tbh.

I can’t fault anyone involved with it when it’s so lucrative, and I do feel there’s a place for exhibitions in tennis that isn’t really explored enough. I don’t claim to have the solutions. But still - it can’t be ignored how hollow and contrived the whole thing feels.
 
Well, I definitely like Opelka!

Even more after what he said about the punk who needs to pay child support!

He said it at Laver Cup...

Lol
 
ollinger said:
Yes.....my thought is YOU'RE WATCHING IT so I guess they're giving you what you want. So what exactly sickens you? That the top players make the top money? Oh well.
(Laver Cup interests me not a bit, have watched none of it, some good football games to see this weekend)
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Well yeah but I’ve also posted 4000 times on a tennis forum, and I also watched Ostrava and Metz this week. I am clearly an outlier here lol

(also in a bad mood about watching football due to being a Spurs fan, the less said about the North London Derby earlier the better.. FFS)
 
Kralingen said:
I just can’t shake this disquieting feeling watching this year’s Laver Cup. It’s a little sickening watching a bunch of multi-millionaire top players and of course the world’s absolute richest in Federer line their already deep pockets like this. It’s the final Sunday and spectators are going to get 2 low quality doubles matches in exchange for their $250+ seats.

Laver Cup is an ATP-sanctioned, yet completely uncompetitive (and non-inclusive, male only) exho for the world’s richest players, who make nearly a million in appearance fees.. when you see it juxtaposed with this week’s ATP 250s and WTA 500 winners making <$50k for winning it is pretty tough to observe.

The dichotomy couldn’t be more pronounced. It’s great for the top players, I suppose, but for me it simply highlights the growing division between the haves and have nots in tennis and feels hollow and greedy.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Hahahah then almost all popular sporting events are non inclusive
 
Kralingen said:
Yeah, it is an uncomfortable view of the reality of supply and demand. I don’t know how the smaller 250s actually break even tbh.

I can’t fault anyone involved with it when it’s so lucrative, and I do feel there’s a place for exhibitions in tennis that isn’t really explored enough. I don’t claim to have the solutions. But still - it can’t be ignored how hollow and contrived the whole thing feels.
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I understand your point but it’s not as if the Laver Cup is replacing an actual tournament or detracting from others. Very unlikely any of these players were going to play in Nur-Sultan or Metz.

I see it as something separate from the ATP tour. I don’t think it has either a positive or negative effect.
 
Kralingen said:
It’s a little sickening watching a bunch of multi-millionaire top players and of course the world’s absolute richest in Federer line their already deep pockets like this.
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Did you feel that way watching the USO a few weeks ago? Meddy lined his pockets with 2.5 million bucks and Djoker snuck off with 1.5 million for a boring 90 minute final. That's what pro sports is all about for elite athletes. Consider Federer is said to get a 4 million dollar appearance fee at Dubai which is a 14 minute commute for him from his penthouse there.
 
Better than not having it. Spectators are happy with the exception of the fans who bought tickets today but 1 out of 12 is not too bad. Organizers are happy. Top players are happy. Fed is happy. Win win
 
Social equality and justice is very important. Such elitist events should be boycotted, and even banned. How dare they organise this event while there are children starving. Shame on Federer.
 
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BeatlesFan said:
Did you feel that way watching the USO a few weeks ago? Meddy lined his pockets with 2.5 million bucks and Djoker snuck off with 1.5 million for a boring 90 minute final. That's what pro sports is all about for elite athletes. Consider Federer is said to get a 4 million dollar appearance fee at Dubai which is a 14 minute commute for him from his penthouse there.
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I am beginning to feel this way about most sports in general, yes. Although the USO is an amazing event that is definitely a celebration of competition and allows spectators an unreal level of access and choices.

Perhaps I’m just jaded.
Arak said:
Social equality and justice is very important. Such elite events should be boycotted, and even banned. How dare they organise this event while there are children starving. Shame on Federer.
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I said nothing of the sort in my OP, mate.
 
BeatlesFan said:
Did you feel that way watching the USO a few weeks ago? Meddy lined his pockets with 2.5 million bucks and Djoker snuck off with 1.5 million for a boring 90 minute final. That's what pro sports is all about for elite athletes. Consider Federer is said to get a 4 million dollar appearance fee at Dubai which is a 14 minute commute for him from his penthouse there.
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dude djoker didnt make that money from the loss but from those 6 wins which I feel are all pretty entertaining at least for some parts with the exception of r2 maybe
 
I've always said that Tennis is a rich man's sport and Federer represents the aristocrats while Novak represents the downtrodden/peasants/third world, and I mean this in a respectful way for Novak since I too am from the third world, so you see, the divide exists and always has, maybe Novak has always wanted to level the playing field but the establishment does not want it.

If only he was as charismatic and classy like Roger then he would have done that in a better way, he comes as anti establishment and the establishment is rich and wants to get richer..... it doesn't care much about the guys at the bottom rung or even in then middle rung....
 
Arak said:
Social equality and justice is very important. Such elitist events should be boycotted, and even banned. How dare they organise this event while there are children starving. Shame on Federer.
Click to expand...

Instead of funding struggling cov1d hospitals around the world and especially in Africa, Federer organizes a superspreader event among millionaires in the middle of a pandemic.
 
Kralingen said:
I am beginning to feel this way about most sports in general, yes. Although the USO is an amazing event that is definitely a celebration of competition and allows spectators an unreal level of access and choices.

Perhaps I’m just jaded.

I said nothing of the sort in my OP, mate.
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I thought this is exactly what you were saying in different words. Nothing wrong with that mind you. It is shocking that a bunch of kids who hit a ball with a racket are making millions, no?
 
The tournament concept is good at its core, IMO. 'Good' as in interesting for the fans and players, and an opportunity to further promote tennis in different places. Without going into the details like how Federer and Godsick explain (promote) the idea behind LC, we get teams with top players and legends of the game, interesting sort of BTS interactions between them, glammed up atmosphere and fun pressers. I think for the interest and entertainment value the LC is supposed to provide, these ticket prices would be justified relative to other big ATP tournaments (big as in having top players participating). So I wouldn't call it greedy.

The fatal, as it looks now, flaw the LC has is the silly geo team split that leads to very poor execution of a good concept. The imbalance between the teams is just too big. One major thing it does is change the perception of the tournament, With Team World not being a real competitor, it automatically makes the LC seem like an exho despite players taking matches quite seriously. And then the more obvious harm is done when one team just gets pummeled in the overall score, which demotivates players and fans and makes Europe's victory hollow.
 
I think it's like seeing the real face of the tennis establishment, and the product they would like to sell. It is uncomfortable. The sad fact is very few people are interested in who is winning in Metz or Nur-Sultan and the tour has no solution to this. But Federer has provided a very easy answer to tennis' questions as to how it will garner interest and I think we will see more of this type of thing over the years. It does make me uncomfortable because the sport would be better off strengthening its support of the lower tier tournaments and making them attractive sports events as well as finding ways to attract fans to the lesser known players. That's way too much hard work though, so why not just throw money at the problem and get some money in return.
 
The dichotomy between the Laver Cup and the ATP 250s doesn't bother me at all. I love the stories that come out of those 250s, and that's where careers begin that maybe lead you to the Laver Cup one day, but that doesn't mean I think the players at Laver owe them a thing.

The only thing that sucked about Laver this year was the performance of Team World. Absolutely terrible. I watched, but it wasn't the most impressive tennis I've ever seen.
 
James P said:
The dichotomy between the Laver Cup and the ATP 250s doesn't bother me at all. I love the stories that come out of those 250s, and that's where careers begin that maybe lead you to the Laver Cup one day, but that doesn't mean I think the players at Laver owe them a thing.

The only thing that sucked about Laver this year was the performance of Team World. Absolutely terrible. I watched, but it wasn't the most impressive tennis I've ever seen.
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Borg as a coach can’t be beaten. Performing better than when he was a player. So bad he retired at 25 years old.
 
Well, people do/watch things they want and will pay what they want. If those things aren't the things you're selling at the prices you're selling them for, then the things die. Else, win win, really, as much as the spectacle might seem stunningly sh1t to many.
 
Devtennis01 said:
I think it's like seeing the real face of the tennis establishment, and the product they would like to sell. It is uncomfortable. The sad fact is very few people are interested in who is winning in Metz or Nur-Sultan and the tour has no solution to this. But Federer has provided a very easy answer to tennis' questions as to how it will garner interest and I think we will see more of this type of thing over the years. It does make me uncomfortable because the sport would be better off strengthening its support of the lower tier tournaments and making them attractive sports events as well as finding ways to attract fans to the lesser known players. That's way too much hard work though, so why not just throw money at the problem and get some money in return.
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This is a very dangerous trend seen in all sports. In footballs as well you have the premier leagues, in cricket we have the circus called IPL which is also like Laver Cup

Players are getting more and more money minded, those days when people fought for pride are gone. Back in the 60s-80s period players in all sports fought for pride, the 2000s have commercialized the sports so much that the kids who grew up in the 90s and 2000s and spineless in the 2010s.

In Cricket we can see this in real, in the 60s-80s period west indian teams used to fight for pride in test matches that were considered the purest form of cricket testing the skill of cricketers, but from late 90s onwards the west indian players started revolting against their board for bigger pays, then when IPL arrived in late 00s the shorter format of cricket (20 overs each) which was the format of IPL started to take precedence over tests (5 day format).

The top west indian cricketers of 2000s nd 2010s (like Chris Gayle) openly said that they are not interested in playing Tests and they like the shorter formats more.

Sadly today in 2021 this bug has affected Australians too, till 2000s the great legends of Australia like Dennis Lillee/Allan Border/Steve Waugh/Glenn McGrath/Shane Warne/Adam Gilchrist/Ricky Ponting etc etc were all mentally tough and ruthless, Today in 2021 the Aussie cricketers also seem to have become money minded and they too love playing IPL more than international matches.

Trend is changing and Cricket just like Tennis was also invented by the British you know, for some reasons Tennis isn't as ****ed up as Cricket is today but believe me the decline has started.

I don't think there will be any more stars after the big 3 and young gens are all trash, we will see a very different form of Tennis being played in the 2030s decades compared to what we saw in the 80s or 90s or 2000s or even the 2010s. Guys like Nick Kyrgios were supposed to be ATGs from the 1990s decade born kids but see what is happening, his successors will be worse if Laver Cup type nonsense is promoted.
 
I've watched like 3 matches total in its history. At some point it will die because it won't be worth the rich fans time. And yes, I say that because few regular people would ever go.
 
Devtennis01 said:
I think it's like seeing the real face of the tennis establishment, and the product they would like to sell. It is uncomfortable. The sad fact is very few people are interested in who is winning in Metz or Nur-Sultan and the tour has no solution to this. But Federer has provided a very easy answer to tennis' questions as to how it will garner interest and I think we will see more of this type of thing over the years. It does make me uncomfortable because the sport would be better off strengthening its support of the lower tier tournaments and making them attractive sports events as well as finding ways to attract fans to the lesser known players. That's way too much hard work though, so why not just throw money at the problem and get some money in return.
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How would you strengthen a 250 event in Kazakhstan? The ATP/tournament organizers couldn’t even manage to keep a 250 afloat which was thirty min outside NYC.
 
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