When did tennis became truly popular?

[toby55555]

Every analysis I've looked at suggests tennis doesn't rank highly in participation or watching in the USA like it does in mainland Europe (not UK); somewhere around 14th behind the likes of College Football.

 

[Krish872007]

Borg was The Man. You look at the number of people who got into the sport as a percentage of the total population and it's insane. Unfortunately didn't hang around long enough.

 

[NoleFam]

I am not old enough to have watched him play live but have heard so much about Borg! Became a huge fan of him as well.Looking at the documentaries they made about him and listening to people talk about him, he is probably the biggest rock star tennis has ever had. His game was extremely modern when you look at it now. Forehand was very similar to the technique players use now.
Fed is a great ambassador for the sport but the charisma and influence Borg had on tennis is much bigger.

Well I'm not old enough to have watched him live as well, but I've done some research on that whole era and it was probably the pinnacle of tennis because the sport itself was at an all time high. Borg was an extremely gifted tennis player who could transfer his game to polar opposite surfaces and dominate both, but his popularity and influence was tremendous.

 

[MatsPhilander]

Late 1970's/early 1980's-think Borg was hugely instrumental, then the tantrums of Mac Daddy, Navratilova/Evert rivalry.

 

[merlinpinpin]

And Borg could be holding all the records today if he didn't walk away from the game at 25 years old. Just think of how much tennis he still had in him.

That's pretty easy, we don't have to think about it--we know. He's always said that he was done when he stopped and couldn't have won anything else as he had no more desire to play. Maybe that wasn't true and he could have won more, but that's how he felt, at least.

 

[augustobt]

Tennis was much more popular in the Borg/McEnroe era. From the comments, I see a lot of people don't realize this. As popular as Federer is, no player can compare to Borg's popularity. He was almost like a rock star.

I tend to agree, although I think that during Agassi/Sampras in the 90's and in the Fedal Rivarily in 05-08 we got something close. I mean, in my whole life I never seen anything close to the repercussion of that 2008 Wimbledon Final. Every sports site, newspaper, tv show, it was all about that match. Even on FM Radio here in my city. Nothing came close to this ever since.

 

[BorgCash]

Borg was something like The Beatles in all world recognition

 

[MatsPhilander]

Borg was something like The Beatles in all world recognition

Sweden's third biggest export behind Volvo & Abba.

 

[Limpinhitter]

Mid to late '70s?

Early to mid 70's.

 

[Limpinhitter]

Even before Borg and McEnroe, tennis had started to become truly popular in the US earlier in the 70s with the likes of Connors, Evert, Stan Smith, Ashe, Navratilova and more. I imagine that it had become quite popular in Australia even before that with Laver, Rosewall, Emerson and others.

As I recall, it became popular in the U.S. in the early 70's because of new professional tennis organizations/circuits like WCT, Grand Prix and Virginia Slims negotiating TV contracts.

 

[airchallenge2]

I have a thread that uses "# of tournaments per year" as an indirect measure of "popularity". This data is from the ATP website:

• https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/open-era-tournaments-by-surface.595659/

So based on this metric, it looks like tennis was at it's most popular during 1971-1982, with a big dip during 1982-1986 (anybody know why?), and then another popularity surge during 1987-1999.

I don't know much about the history of tennis, or the business of the ATP. But I do know that of the times I've been to the US Open and Wimbledon during the past five years, they both have been ****ing packed!

Great info! Thanks for finding it.

 

[BorgCash]

EASY

Great pictures!

 

[BorgCash]

Sweden's third biggest export behind Volvo & Abba.

I can also add Ingemar Stenmark.
What about SAAB?

 

[adil1972]

when i started following tennis in 1988

 

[KG1965]

Great pictures!

Thanks

 

[Gizo]

in the UK its never been a popular sport, most people only follow Wimbledon if at all. As a participation sport I suspects the 1930s was the height of club culture albeit with a narrow middle class participation. Footie rules.

To be honest I think that overall tennis is pretty popular here, in terms of TV ratings, interest and participation, although the participation figures have taken a hit. And the tennis boom of the 70s and the golden age of Borg-McEnroe-Connors-Evert-Navratilova-Goolagong etc extended over here and attracted a lot of interest in the sport.

Our TV coverage between BBC, ITV, Eurosport, Sky and BT is excellent and very extensive. And our smaller tennis events in Eastbourne, Birmingham, Nottingham have generally been very well attended, especially compared to tournaments at that level in other countries.

I don't think there is a single country in the world where tennis can compete with football for popularity nowadays, including the USA where football/soccer completely destroys tennis. Maybe Australia is the one exception?

Also there aren't too many countries that could go 35 years without either a male or female singles grand slam champion and still muster up the same level of interest in tennis that the UK did during that period. If the USA or Spain suffered such long title droughts, especially a 76 year grand slam singles title drought in the men's game, then tennis would probably be utterly irrelevant in those countries.

 

[BorgCash]

Thanks

Thank you!
Wow, more great pictures. How I love those cool images of the 70's!
Did Jimbo offer his racquet to Bjorn on last picture?
Do you know the brand of tennis shoes Jimbo used on the third picture, seems the same as his vest brand on the last one?

 

[Get A Grip]

My dad/grandmother/aunt played (at a decently high level) throughout the mid-60s and early 70s. They always tell me that if you showed up to a park with 4-5 courts when the weather was good, you would have to sign up on a sheet and wait to play, sometimes several hours. I think I have had to wait on public courts for a total of 15 minutes my entire life.

So I don't know exactly when the sport blew up, probably way before that, but there was certainly a time in America when it was a very popular sport to play recreationally.

Hehe I'm not quite that old, but I started playing in 1980, and it's true, it was not easy to get on public courts, you had to wait. That's not the case now.

 

[-NN-]

Hehe I'm not quite that old, but I started playing in 1980, and it's true, it was not easy to get on public courts, you had to wait. That's not the case now.

Long shot: Did you use Chatango during the tennis matches circa 2009-2014 on live streaming sites? This is like a super long shot.

 

[Get A Grip]

Long shot: Did you use Chatango during the tennis matches circa 2009-2014 on live streaming sites? This is like a super long shot.

Yeah super long shot.
I was probably still on dial up then--LOL

 

[Get A Grip]

Thanks

The 70s!!!! Everything was better then.

 

[KG1965]

Thanks

The two joked before the final at US Open 76.

Robert Bruce ...great vintage.

Great outfits 70s.. or not?

And this?

 

[the green god]

And Borg could be holding all the records today if he didn't walk away from the game at 25 years old. Just think of how much tennis he still had in him.

He'd been grinding since 15 on the tour, he was done.

 

[BorgCash]

The 70s!!!! Everything was better then.

Exactly, man, that was the time...

 

[BorgCash]

The two joked before the final at US Open 76.

Robert Bruce ...great vintage.

Great outfits 70s.. or not?

And this?

There were many great outfits in the 70's tennis: Robert Bruce, Marlboro, Jockey, Cerutti, and all well known Film, ST, Ellesse, FP, Adidas, Lacoste, etc...

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

Borg had his racquets strung very tight, and he chose which racquets to use depending on the sound of it.
I saw in a documentary he had like a bed full of strung racquets to choose from. Spent like an hour the night before every match testing racquets by the sound of it. He had many things he had to do to perfectionize his game. He was also very fit. He has never been exhausted in a match, worked out a lot.
11 slams and also the most difficult slams to get back to back, retired age 25...
He MIGHT be the goat. And for sure he is the biggest tennis star ever lived.

 

[BorgCash]

Borg had his racquets strung very tight, and he chose which racquets to use depending on the sound of it.
I saw in a documentary he had like a bed full of strung racquets to choose from. Spent like an hour the night before every match testing racquets by the sound of it. He had many things he had to do to perfectionize his game. He was also very fit. He has never been exhausted in a match, worked out a lot.
11 slams and also the most difficult slams to get back to back, retired age 25...
He MIGHT be the goat. And for sure he is the biggest tennis star ever lived.

Yes, about 40 kilos. Some of his racquets' strings were broken with big noise during the night just because they were very tight.

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

Yes, about 40 kilos. Some of his racquets' strings were broken with big noise during the night just because they were very tight.

He is the real "maesto" of tennis LOL. Choosing racquets by the sound of it. Think those racquets couldnt be strung any harder. Wish I was alive when he was on top. His style and personality... Its not strange why he became so big. He was a bit of a mystery too, with his coolness.

 

[Mustard]

In 1974, with Jimmy Connors playing a revolutionary brand of tennis with attitude, including a desire to take tennis out of the elitist clubs. Then there was Bjorn Borg and Guillermo Vilas as sex symbols, and then John McEnroe's appeal taking bad attitude still further than Connors. It took off then.

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

In 1974, with Jimmy Connors playing a revolutionary brand of tennis with attitude, including a desire to take tennis out of the elitist clubs. Then there was Bjorn Borg and Guillermo Vilas as sex symbols, and then John McEnroe's appeal taking bad attitude still further than Connors. It took off then.

^ your post: +1. That was the modern wave (after the original "golden age of sports" period of the 1920's that tennis was part of).

also depends on who (and where) you ask, e.g.:​

TW-TT: when 'RF' appeared . . .​

 

[BorgCash]

He is the real "maesto" of tennis LOL. Choosing racquets by the sound of it. Think those racquets couldnt be strung any harder. Wish I was alive when he was on top. His style and personality... Its not strange why he became so big. He was a bit of a mystery too, with his coolness.

I watched Borg from 1977, mostly because of him I started to play.

 

[TheGhostOfAgassi]

^ your post: +1. That was the modern wave (after the original "golden age of sports" period of the 1920's that tennis was part of).

also depends on who (and where) you ask, e.g.:​

TW-TT: when 'RF' appeared . . .​

at that time tennis was fresh, hip and cool. It evolved from being old fashioned little boring to become for everybody and attract young audience. With Fed its going back to the whole gentleman thing again. Rafa is the one most similar to this in the 70s, but unfortunately he has become like the others now too.

 

[sureshs]

Tennis became truly popular when Nadal started beating Federer. Before that, viewers would simply assume that Federer would win every match. When Nadal started dominating, the rivalry made the sport hugely popular. Watching a Fed-Nadal match was a nerve-wracking experience, unlike any sporting event ever. People went through psychological hoops to face the reality. It was really the golden era of tennis.

 

[Gizo]

My favourite player from that golden era Gerulaitis, won 1 major title at the AO in 1977 (though it wasn't even a proper major nor the biggest title that he won during his career), and he was a huge superstar as well. Nastase, Vilas and Gerulaitis themselves were all huge superstars and household names in the 70s, offering a tremendous supporting cast alongside that golden triumvirate of Borg, Connors and McEnroe.

I don't think that any other one-time grand slam champion in the open era has had the star appeal of Gerulaitis. For example the popularity of Roddick in 2003-2004 doesn't compare to the popularity of Vitas in the late 70s-early 80s.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Back when it got extreme!

 

[thrust]

When Federer was born.

It started with the beginning of the open era, long before Federer reached his peak. In the seventies and eighties, with: Connors, McEnroe, Borg, Lendl, Becker, Courier and Edberg. In the nineties with Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Chang, Hewitt, and a few others.

 

[*Sparkle*]

Trust the Americans to name the era in which they peaked!

Given that the name Fred Perry went onto adorn a fashion line that still sells, then it's safe to say that tennis got a lot of attention when he was winning. Watching back old footage, it's apparent that Laver was a big international sports star.

Clearly, things like radio and tv coverage made a big difference to awareness beyond the local tennis club, and I'd guess that not unlike today, most attention was given when home players were winning, so the amount and timing of coverage would depend on the success of home players.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

Back when it got extreme!

i had this one

there were no cybermugs on the cybertour in that time, believe me !

... with plugs on the cartridge for extra joypads to play doubles against pete and 60's weed !

 

[sportmac]

My dad/grandmother/aunt played (at a decently high level) throughout the mid-60s and early 70s. They always tell me that if you showed up to a park with 4-5 courts when the weather was good, you would have to sign up on a sheet and wait to play, sometimes several hours. I think I have had to wait on public courts for a total of 15 minutes my entire life.

So I don't know exactly when the sport blew up, probably way before that, but there was certainly a time in America when it was a very popular sport to play recreationally.

Yep. At least here in DC, the 70's/80's you had to either get there super early or plan on waiting. We'd drive out to the suburbs and still have to wait, just not as much as in the city.
Spring and fall were the worst, especially around the FO and USO. The crowds would thin out during July/August because of the high heat/humidity.

Even today some of the courts close to downtown DC still have a sign up list but the farther you go out the courts open up. Still, it's nothing like it was in the 70's/80's.

 

[ollinger]

When Federer was born.

I did not care about tennis until I became a fan of Federer and it's going to be hard to love it as much when he's gone

and yet tennis industry statistics show the number of people playing the game, at least in the US and England where the tennis industry website had stats available, has declined from 2008 until now. Fed, it seems, has not been any sort of savior for the game.

 

[Mustard]

My favourite player from that golden era Gerulaitis, won 1 major title at the AO in 1977 (though it wasn't even a proper major nor the biggest title that he won during his career), and he was a huge superstar as well. Nastase, Vilas and Gerulaitis themselves were all huge superstars and household names in the 70s, offering a tremendous supporting cast alongside that golden triumvirate of Borg, Connors and McEnroe.

I don't think that any other one-time grand slam champion in the open era has had the star appeal of Gerulaitis. For example the popularity of Roddick in 2003-2004 doesn't compare to the popularity of Vitas in the late 70s-early 80s.

Vitas Gerulaitis was popular with almost everyone. He is still much missed.

 

[TahoeTennis]

Tennis always had and will have a strong cult following so to speak, but one man brought it to the masses circa 1990.

Andre

 

[Mustard]

and yet tennis industry statistics show the number of people playing the game, at least in the US and England where the tennis industry website had stats available, has declined from 2008 until now. Fed, it seems, has not been any sort of savior for the game.

In the UK, tennis has had an elitism problem since time immemorial. The Murray family are not happy about it, either. They feel that nowhere near enough is being done, and that British tennis has largely failed to capitalize on Andy Murray's profile and success.

 

[TahoeTennis]

Agassi single handedly made tennis popular and inspired the feds and nadals and made tennis what it is today, especially America tennis

 

[Gizo]

The LTA spending £40 million on one national tennis centre in Roehampton in 2007, instead of splitting the money and building multiple facilities across the country, was a huge mistake.

Given how much money we spend on tennis in the UK (the LTA is flush with money), our historical lack of players that have won ATP/WTA titles or even sustained themselves in the top 100 on either tour has been a huge embarrassment.

As I said before though, it is actually very impressive that tennis has been maintained such high popularity in the UK despite that lack of success.

 

[*Sparkle*]

and yet tennis industry statistics show the number of people playing the game, at least in the US and England where the tennis industry website had stats available, has declined from 2008 until now. Fed, it seems, has not been any sort of savior for the game.

The big problem in the UK, which applies to sport in general, is that we are great as a nation at watching sport, but actually doing it seems like a lot of hard work, and too much of a chore. It used to be that the public tennis courts would be full during Wimbledon, but now we've got so many matches to watch across all of the digital, red button and internet channels, there's just no time!

 

[Poisoned Slice]

i had this one

there were no cybermugs on the cybertour in that time, believe me !

... with plugs on the cartridge for extra joypads to play doubles against pete and 60's weed !

lol I'm not quite sure which one I had. All I can really rememeber is that I had a Pete Sampras game for the mega drive. Jimmy Connors tennis for the snes is my favorite old school tennis game. A much simpler time, but I agree, the opponents were not mugs.

 

[Reptilian Schizo]

and yet tennis industry statistics show the number of people playing the game, at least in the US and England where the tennis industry website had stats available, has declined from 2008 until now. Fed, it seems, has not been any sort of savior for the game.

Playing.. but what about watching?