Athletistic / Tennis. The world’s second-ranked tennis player, Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, has spoken about the problems of modern tennis. He did so at a press conference after reaching the 1/8 finals of Wimbledon 2024.
“We need to increase the number of players who make a living from tennis. Today I very rarely see in the media that journalists write that we have only 350-400 players, men, women, singles and doubles, who make a living from our sport. This worries me deeply. It is clear that the Grand Slam winner gets this or that. The main prize is always the priority, but what about the grassroots level. We are still doing a very bad job in this regard.
Tennis is a very global sport, enjoyed by millions of kids who pick up a racket and want to play themselves. But we are not making it accessible. I think collectively we all need to come together or create a new foundation of what tennis really is.
“At the club level, tennis is under threat. If we do nothing, all tennis clubs will soon turn into padel and pickleball. It’s simply more economical! You have one tennis court or you can build three padel courts… It’s simple mathematics,” Djokovic said, according to the Wimbledon press service.
Novak Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam winner. Currently, he has 99 titles in ATP tournaments (98 of which are singles). After Roland Garros 2024, the Serb lost his leadership in the ATP rankings and is now the third racket in the world.
Source: Sport
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
