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I didn't catch all of this thread, but a few thoughts:
1. Pro tennis 25-35 years ago wasn't competing with computers, smartphones, the internet, and an explosion of access to streaming content, that it is today.
2. Streaming access to live pro matches is such a disorganized patchwork of vendors, many with poor quality/unreliable services, that actually watching this stuff is a challenge. Add to that the poor video production quality of so many tournaments, the experience of watching tennis is poor and has absolutely not kept up with the times. They're finally starting to use hawkeye to replace line judges - why is that even up for debate? Who finds questionable calls by flawed human vision and time consuming challenges an entertaining or compelling part of the experience?
3. Popular pro sports will draw more young players in, so #1 and #2 lead to fewer new players.
4. Pickleball might be drawing people who might have played tennis away - it's less of a time investment to pick up and play at an ok level, from what I gather.
On the other hand, I'd make a couple of counter points:
a. Tennis got a lot more popular during the pandemic. Maybe because it was one of the only pro sports still putting on events. Maybe because the default of the sport is "socially distanced", and/or because there is lots of infrastructure in place already. And perhaps many people who used to play, but got sucked into a life of long commutes and work hours, were able to rediscover old interests and passions on lockdown. But I'm having a lot more trouble finding open courts today than I was a couple of years ago.
b. There is a ton of high quality instructional content today on YouTube. I think a total beginner could develop a 3.5->4.0 game fairly quickly without formal in person instruction, and probably without spending on anything but an internet connection.
c. It is crazy easy to stick your cell phone the fence, record your play, and either or both send to a coach for analysis and advice or push the video through some algorithms to instantly produce some data and information about your game.
d. In theory, it should be easier to connect with people to play today than it was 20-30 years ago, so hopefully there is some inertia that pushes tennis's popularity along.
Great Post
I went to a Tennis Tournament way way back when I was younger. My Dad's company had sponsorship so we had tickets for free. I did not enjoy it because it was not a high intensity, fast paced sport like Football or Basketball.
One thing I remember was that one of the players was Vijay Amritraj
and the local crowd g kept Booing him. I asked people why they did not like him and it came down to good ol' Texas racism: he was from India and had dark skin.
That offended me even then.
Also, the referee kept getting on the microphone and telling people to sit down. Seriously. Like every 3 minutes. The PA announcer even came on and said "In the interest of respect for the athletes and safety of the fans, we ask that all fans remain seated"
What fun is a sport if you cannot get up and go get a drink during the boring parts?
I think that many Americans want a sport that has a little more action. I know Tennis is more popular now than it was way back then, but for me, I would find tennis or golf boring, and enjoy the action of hockey or Indy racing first.
Tennis was popular when the 'stars' were fun to watch. The competition was ruthless and engaging. I recall Johnny Mac, Vlad (Lendl), JC (Conners), among others... Everett, Navaratola, Billie Jean (King) etc
Now there's the Williams sisters ... and that's it, and it's boringly passive.
because it is Tennis ... and Anna Kournikova is no longer playing.
Well you ought to see Anett Kontaveit. She's been doing amazing lately. I see her souring up the WTA rankings to the single digit spot and winning a grand slam very soon.
If she wins the Kremlin Cup tournament on Sunday, I may just ask her to marry me.
Tennis is boring. Look at the spectators in the stands of any college or NFL football game and then look at all the stiffs in the stands in a tennis match who are scared to even fart cause the noise might distract the players on the court. Where would you rather be?
Tennis is boring. Look at the spectators in the stands of any college or NFL football game and then look at all the stiffs in the stands in a tennis match who are scared to even fart cause the noise might distract the players on the court. Where would you rather be?
I went to the US Open last month and it was pretty amazing watching tennis live. Wayyy better than a baseball or basketball game! But still, nothing beats hockey when it comes to watching live! Hockey is just a downright jaw dropping to watch live, but not so great when watching on TV.
I think what makes tennis fun for me is the fact that I used to play it when I was a teenager and you'd be surprised at how things are much harder than they look. So some of the things these tennis players can do can be quite astounding at times!
We seem to prefer team sports and the "event" of a game happening in the first place. Like golf, it's one of those things which are a lot more fun to play than watch on television.
I'm a sports guy. I usta love tennis when is was dynamically competitive. Those days are gone. If McEnroe or Connors rings a bell... you'll understand. Beyond the Williams sisters... tennis has become like polo.
Stick a fork in it and leave it for the Europeans.
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