What happens to Tennis after Federer retires?

Agassifan

Hall of Fame
@sports_illustrated :

• Roger Federer is the belt that is holding up the girth of this tournament. His mere arrival at the facility is greeted with more curiosity and attention than some quarterfinal matches. His resurgence should be celebrated. His Thursday night match against Gael Monfils is already a tough ticket. But it does pose the question: what happens to tennis in his absence?

Also, Cincinnati broke all time records this year.
 
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smoledman

G.O.A.T.
0084149309466_500X500.jpg
 

Mr.Snrub

Banned
There were a lot of good matches this tournament. SI should stop reinforcing the idea that Federer is everything. He only had one interesting match so far for Pete Sampras's sake!

Media should play a bigger role in EDUCATING the people with what goes on in the rest of the sport outside of the big 4. This kind of celebrity worshiping is pathetic and detrimental to the sport.
 

bjsnider

Hall of Fame
There will be another superstar player to capture the imagination of the public. Actually, many more generations of them. Federer is bigger than tennis, but tennis can survive without him. Not that I think it will ever have to. He'll always be around.
 

Agassifan

Hall of Fame
From the other thread

@CBSSPORTS is relieved that Federer made the semis, otherwise they feared that their last year of tennis broadcasting will plummet into history without any notice.

@jon_wertheim reported on tennis channel that Federer is the ratings magnet and is the single largest attraction. He is the nerve center and glue that holds the event.
 

Chico

Banned
Millions, including myself, lose interest in the sport.

Good riddance to you and those supposed "millions". You were never fans of the sport you are just fanboys, hence tennis will not lose anything.

Tennis will be fine. Novak, Murray, etc will carry the torch. No player is bigger than the game, Federer included.

Also LOL at that ridiculous quote from Sports Illustrated (if it is true).

Fed fanboys and sponsors are just trying to overhype Fed and his bloated US Open run on the wings of shameless favoritism and cakewalk draw and to convince us that him not winning US open is supposed to be some king of disaster so he has to win at all cost. :shock: Unbelievable junk they are trying to pull.
 

Dan Z

Semi-Pro
Tennis will live on - its bigger than any individual player even the one called Roger Federer. It was a great sport before he arrived and it'll continue to be great after (so long as there aren't too many more Milos Roanic type players at any one time)
 

FD3S

Hall of Fame
Nothing. Macabre as this may sound, people will keep trying to hit a ball over a net and within some lines with racquets long after this generation is dead, much less retired.
 

augustobt

Legend
I'll keep playing, of course, but probably not watching as much as I did in the past 12 years.

Maybe it can change with a rising of players who aren't baseline bashers who can only produce 5 hours slugfests.
 

BullDogTennis

Hall of Fame
Tennis will be fine, now the state of viewership will probably take a dive just like golf viewership has taken a dive without tiger playing. (or atleast playing good)
 
alt.: weed - beef - polish vodka

Good riddance to you and those supposed "millions".

You were never fans of the sport

you are just fanboys,


hence tennis will not lose anything.Tennis will be fine. Novak, Murray, etc will carry the torch. No player is bigger than the game, Federer included.

Also LOL at that ridiculous quote from Sports Illustrated (if it is true).

Fed fanboys and sponsors are just trying to overhype Fed and his bloated US Open run on the wings of shameless favoritism and cakewalk draw and to convince us that him not winning US open is supposed to be some king of disaster so he has to win at all cost. :shock: Unbelievable junk they are trying to pull.
Under orders to play nice, what say we play "Crossword Puzzle" in deciphering the ironic amusement above:

Across:
1. _ _ _

2. _ _ _ _

3. _ _ _ _ _ _


Hints:

1. Khmer Rouge Leader: "Pol _ _ _ "

2. Early U.S. released Beatles LP: " _ _ _ _ the Beatles"

3. 40's Comic Strip Characters: " Ma & Pa _ _ _ _ _ _"
 

Bryan Swartz

Hall of Fame
Tennis will be fine. Some won't watch with the same interest but new players will bring with them new fans. The cycle of history will continue.
 

Netspirit

Hall of Fame
Nothing good will happen to tennis if Federer retires (or Nadal, for that matter).

Eventually though, new charismatic champions will come to the tour. They are kids now.
 

smoledman

G.O.A.T.
I don't know. US Open had the highest overnight ratings in years because of last night's match. Federer remains ATP Fan Favorite and the biggest draw in terms of ticket sales. Notice how the absence of Nadal has not affected ticket sales!
 

smoledman

G.O.A.T.
Nothing good will happen to tennis if Federer retires (or Nadal, for that matter).

Eventually though, new charismatic champions will come to the tour. They are kids now.

I shudder to think of Kyrgios being the standard bearer for the ATP. That's like the barbarians sacking Rome.:shock:
 

smoledman

G.O.A.T.
There will be another superstar player to capture the imagination of the public. Actually, many more generations of them. Federer is bigger than tennis, but tennis can survive without him. Not that I think it will ever have to. He'll always be around.

I hope he commentates for a bit after retiring and pops up around slams for analysis at least over Skype or something. Need to keep him around forever!
 

Raphael

Semi-Pro
Under orders to play nice, what say we play "Crossword Puzzle" in deciphering the ironic amusement above:

Across:
1. _ _ _

2. _ _ _ _

3. _ _ _ _ _ _


Hints:

1. Khmer Rouge Leader: "Pol _ _ _ "

2. Early U.S. released Beatles LP: " _ _ _ _ the Beatles"

3. 40's Comic Strip Characters: " Ma & Pa _ _ _ _ _ _"

THIS was funny! LOL
 
It won't be too bad if Fed retires in the next year or two.

But, if Fed hangs around 3-4 more years (possible), and he exits around the same time as Nadal (totally possible given Rafa's physical state), and Djokovic and Murray are 31-32 and close to retirement as well it would be a disaster.

No one player is bigger than tennis, but if all four of these guys go out around the same time it would be an absolute nightmare for the ATP. We haven't seen a single player under 25 with the talent, mental state and marketability to carry the weight of one of those guys, let alone all four.

Could be a dark time, but here's hoping a crop of young guys show up ASAP.
 

Agassifan

Hall of Fame
It won't be too bad if Fed retires in the next year or two.

But, if Fed hangs around 3-4 more years (possible), and he exits around the same time as Nadal (totally possible given Rafa's physical state), and Djokovic and Murray are 31-32 and close to retirement as well it would be a disaster.

No one player is bigger than tennis, but if all four of these guys go out around the same time it would be an absolute nightmare for the ATP. We haven't seen a single player under 25 with the talent, mental state and marketability to carry the weight of one of those guys, let alone all four.

Could be a dark time, but here's hoping a crop of young guys show up ASAP.

In other words, you're saying the ATP will become like the WTA (minus Serena, of course)
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
The sky is the limit for Federer after retirement, but for tennis? Not so much.
 

Alchemy-Z

Hall of Fame
Well right now you have the slam record holder and the guy chasing that record active....

once fed and rafa retire it will basically take another decade for a player/players to build to those records being broken.

it will probably be like 2000 to 2004 different number ones multiple slam winners etc.

the new guys have some growing up to do still.

but you can bet money soon as a new player not named (fed/rafa/andy/novak) has 4 slams under his belt the hype machine will kick in again.
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
I'm confused. If Fed was so vital to the sport why do these same people urge him to retire every time he has a down turn. This is the brief that's been handed out to all the commies because the Sky commentators were on the same bandwagon the other day.

I saw on Twitter that the tickets for his 4th round match were reduced to $8. How big a draw does that make him. It's now down to rent-a-crowd to carry on the myth that people queue round the block to see him.
 

Djokodal Fan

Hall of Fame
Nobody is greater than the game.

There will be new superstar in the horizon. Ofcourse, there will be some period of lull where some bunch of nobodies will sneak in try to win something. But eventually a dominator will come through and people will continue to fight on message boards comparing him to Federer and undermine his achievements as usual!!
 

hawk eye

Hall of Fame
A lot of shanks will have left the sport for good.
Tennis will be cleaned up and the amount of clean hitting will increase.
 

14OuncesStrung

Professional
You all need to shut up and get over it.
There are plenty of great young players coming up after Federer retires.
It's not the end of the world.
 

Defcon

Hall of Fame
Fed did what no one else has been able to do in US tv history - overshadowed an NFL game.

And there's no 'new superstar'. We have Rafa, Djoker etc and none of them come even close to Fed's popularity. It's like saying 'there'll be another Einstein'.

Bitter haters won't recognize that Fed is special in so many ways, everyone does.
 

14OuncesStrung

Professional
Fed did what no one else has been able to do in US tv history - overshadowed an NFL game.

And there's no 'new superstar'. We have Rafa, Djoker etc and none of them come even close to Fed's popularity. It's like saying 'there'll be another Einstein'.

Bitter haters won't recognize that Fed is special in so many ways, everyone does.

Oh yeah sure... After Sampras retired everyone thought THE SAME THING...
And then look what happened...
You never know what's going to happen in the future so why worry about it?
Tennis will be fine after Federer retires...
 

octobrina10

Talk Tennis Guru
Fed did what no one else has been able to do in US tv history - overshadowed an NFL game.

And there's no 'new superstar'. We have Rafa, Djoker etc and none of them come even close to Fed's popularity. It's like saying 'there'll be another Einstein'.

Bitter haters won't recognize that Fed is special in so many ways, everyone does.

Rafa is more popular than Fed!
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
Fed did what no one else has been able to do in US tv history - overshadowed an NFL game.

And there's no 'new superstar'. We have Rafa, Djoker etc and none of them come even close to Fed's popularity. It's like saying 'there'll be another Einstein'.

Bitter haters won't recognize that Fed is special in so many ways, everyone does.

Oh yea!

FB

Nadal
14,642,519 likes

Federer
14,524,984 likes

Djokovic
5,233,529 likes
 

jg153040

G.O.A.T.
Fed fans will disappear and it will be good.

What makes you think Nadal will play more time than Federer? They will probably retire at the same age.

I don't think Nadal will compete when he starts losing. His ego is too big, I think for that, he doesn't love the game for that.

Also Federer is currently in better shape than Nadal, what makes you think Federer will retire years before Nadal?
 

namelessone

Legend
Someone new will come along.

Seriously, that's it. Now Federer will always have his place among the greats because of his results but no players is actually bigger than the game.

People who saw the Borg-McEnroe era couldn't believe that they would get something greater. The 90's came along and Sampras dominated. People couldn't believe that Sampras's slam count could be toped, then Federer came along. As wild as this may sound, somebody will topple Fed as well in the future.

There will be a transition period that will probably be awful.

I heard that Fed was to play until 2016 or so. That would make him 35. Nadal,Djoko and Murray will be around 30 and probably in the decline of their career. I doubt any of these 3 will play past 32 and Rafa will probably struggle to make it to 30 and play with his physical issues.

That period when Fed retires and Nadjokorray will be on their last legs will probably be one of the worst on the sport in terms of transition. I just don't see many of these youngsters filling that void.

Dimitrov hasn't lived up to the hype yet.
Nishikori has potential but is frail.
Kyrgios has a big game but I doubt his consistency, especially on slower surfaces.
Raonic- well the less said the better.
Harrison - ha-ha!!

The only good thing will be that slams will be far more open.
 
N

Nathaniel_Near

Guest
Good post namelessone. There will always be someone new who creates their own great and wondrous legacy in this sport. Sometimes there might be little lags and gaps before new titans replace old titans, but they always come along. It's inevitable.
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
Whenever Rafa is away from the scene they start bigging up the others. In 2012 it was Nole and Murray who were supposed to be the new big kids on the block and were supposed to have taken to game to higher levels in Rafa's absence, then Rafa came back and shot straight to #1. This time it's Federer who is having the time of his life with no Nadal to cope with, so they are making the most of it.
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
I definitely won't miss Federer. I don't even make a point of watching boring old Fed even now. If he is playing during normal hours I will watch it but not glued to it and I usually watch a DVD of Rafa's matches on my portable DVD player at the same time to stop me falling asleep watching Borerer.
 

augustobt

Legend
I definitely won't miss Federer. I don't even make a point of watching boring old Fed even now. If he is playing during normal hours I will watch it but not glued to it and I usually watch a DVD of Rafa's matches on my portable DVD player at the same time to stop me falling asleep watching Borerer.

What a coincidence, based on someone with Nadal's picture and a username of 'clayqueen'. No
 

octobrina10

Talk Tennis Guru
What makes you think Nadal will play more time than Federer? They will probably retire at the same age.

...what makes you think Federer will retire years before Nadal?

:shock:
Haven't you read that Rafa is 5 years younger than Fed ?!
 
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