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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.
... just sayin'
Its boring like a lot of international sports are now to most Americans. Soccer, Boxing, the Olympics, etc. If we are not dominating it we really do not care about it.
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"I've got a fightin' side a mile wide but I pray for peace"
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oklazona Bound
Its boring like a lot of international sports are now to most Americans. Soccer, Boxing, the Olympics, etc. If we are not dominating it we really do not care about it.
It certainly has its fans and they aren't two or three. Plenty of people practice the sport worldwide, watch the sport on TV/internet, go to live tennis tournaments of the professional and amateur kind, etc. They certainly buy tennis paraphernalia (shirts, hats, etc). I think if there are miniature 3D representation of tennis stadiums worldwide or at least the most important, that the people that own at least one aren't a few. Even ESPN, which is based in Connecticut (United States), finds tennis to be important enough to air its tournaments, at least the major ones in the USA and elsewhere.
But, with that said, I don't think there is a single country where tennis has reach a level of popularity that it could be considered the "national sport." Football (or soccer), baseball, American football, hockey are some of the sports that reaches that level. Tennis not so much, I think.
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Anyway, here is an interesting article on tennis in the Dominican Republic. It even has an official tennis stadium, something most countries don't have, and Björn Borg was recently interviewed there (includes video of the interview in English). I wouldn't consider tennis to be a very popular sport there, but it does has its following. It appears to have the most tennis facilities not just in the Caribbean, but in all of Central America. Not even neighboring Puerto Rico, which is richer and a neighbor, has a professional tennis stadium. I think that says a lot. Tennis may not be the most popular sport, but it's the only country in that entire sub-region that gave tennis a higher importance to merit its own stadium.
Not sure about that. With tennis it can be one or two players who dominate the sport and what country they are from is very important. Like Venus and Serena. Or Tiger Woods in golf.
If we don't have those kind of players then people tune out to it. But even when we do tennis is not going to compete with the NFL, NBA, MLB and the major college sports. And with those sports there are always stars to be fans of. It never ends.
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(set 9 days ago)
Location: New York Area
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Originally Posted by BucFan
Good question. In the 1970s-80s, and into the 1990s, it was pretty popular - not just playing tennis, but watching professional tennis. I remember having to wait to get court time, but now, the courts I see are rarely even used. Golf seemed to take over as a more popular sports than tennis awhile ago.
As for pro tennis, having non-Americans as the top players, especially on the mens' circuit, probably has a major influence. No McEnroe, no Connors, no Ashe, no Sampras or Agassi anymore. Top players are foreign to USA.
I think the migration of professional tennis from homey, user-friendly Forest Hills to a forbidding U.S. Tennis Center has played a role. Also, the aging of the population of on one end has made golf popular. On the millennial end, the availability of sedentary pursuits such as online versions of football and other games has sapped the urge to wake up early on a weekend morning and play.
Personally I play. I am 64 and the tennis club I belong to costs about $2000, from May to October and my indoor game under $1000. Most of the clubs around are either "tennis memberships" at golf clubs (less than golf memberships but still sky-high) or other clubs that are charging about $6000-$8000 for the summer season. At those prices, for people desiring a social game, golf begins to look good. I don't play golf.
Ever since they stopped executing the losing side, it lost its appeal...
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