Is doubles dead?

[MajesticMoose]

Watching the Mahut/Herbert semi final match right now and there is barely anyone there watching. This is a semi final of a slam event! A sea of blue chairs... discuss.

 

[Terenigma]

It was never alive.

 

[mbm0912]

I think it's pretty big in San Francisco, actually..

 

[Tshooter]

Make it a freebie with open seating like the USO. Problem solved at least as far as optics on TV is concerned.

It was never alive.

It was alive when JMac/Fleming played and it could be again if the top guys played.

 

[Deleted member 688153]

At the recreational level it certainly isn't. At the pro level it's been struggling for relevance for ages now

 

[Tshooter]

I think it's pretty big in San Francisco, actually..

It’s big in Belgium.

 

[GrassCourtFan]

It was alive when JMac/Fleming played and it could be again if the top guys played.

Why would they, though? With how physical the game is nowadays, that would imperil their singles. And it's a low amount of money and prestige compared to singles.

I think the answer to the OP is yes, unfortunately. ATP made the wrong interventions when they tried to save it by shortening it; it instead reinforced the fact that doubles is second-class, and kept the death spiral going. (Death spiral: doubles is less prestigious, so top players play it less, so fans watch it less, so it becomes even less prestigious, and so on...)

It'll get worse until/unless the ITF and ATP actually try to save it, and if they do it will be a massive undertaking.

 

[Tshooter]

Why would they, though?...

I didn’t say they would or should.

 

[MajesticMoose]

With the new dubs rules, I feel like they're out there playing World Team Tennis without the multicolored courts.

 

[Musterrific]

It's been dead for decades. It's nothing but filler between the singles matches that people actually want to see.

 

[MeatTornado]

Unless any of the top guys start playing it again, it'll stay dead.

Unfortunately, the game has just become too physical. No one wants to play both, it's too much of a grind.

 

[clayqueen]

It was never alive.

It was alive during McEnroe's era when he was simultaneously #1 in both doubles and singles. I don't think they had so many mandatory tournaments, if at all, in those days so the calendar wasn't so busy. If the top players played doubles as well it would get more attention but they have enough on their plate already so doubles, I have to agree with Dan Evans here, is left to players who are not good enough to make it in singles and TV won't give them the slots.