Tennis: “At club level, it’s in danger”: Novak Djokovic’s powerful thoughts on the future of tennis

Tennis is going through key moments. Amidst the battles between the circuits for calendar dominance and the emergence of other racket sports on the big stages, it is the players themselves who raise their complaints and criticisms towards a discipline with a history and a level, but which in recent times has not been able to reinvent itself.

Generations have changed, trade agreements have changed, but tennis has not. For this reason, the debate is served and even some of the most important voices on the circuit do not hesitate to give their opinion on the subject.

This was the case of Novak Djokovic, who after qualifying for the round of 16 at Wimbledon, answered a question from the press to offer an in-depth reflection on the moment his sport is experiencing and the changes it must make to avoid losing the commercial battle against other disciplines. It all started with his opinion on whether the Grand Slams should be played in the best of three sets, but it also extended to the dispute over paddle tennis, the earnings of players outside the Top 100 and the media work carried out by the circuits.

“They represent a very important aspect of the history and also of the future of this sport. I support five-set matches, especially in the final rounds of Grand Slams. “I’ve seen that there is a lot of debate about it, that they wonder a lot if the Grand Slam tournaments should be best of three sets. I don’t think so. I think they should continue to be best of five sets,” said the world number three, who in this reflection gave as an example the Wimbledon final he played against Roger Federer in 2019.

Of course, the Serb did admit to having a particular point of view on the matter: “The only thing that, in my opinion, could perhaps be positive is consider the first rounds to be the best of three rounds s. Later on, you move to this hybrid format of playing best-of-five sets from the fourth round or the quarterfinals,” he noted.

That opinion on the five sets was just the beginning of a powerful speech about the present of tennis and the changes it needs to make for the future. “You have to, beyond the Grand Slams, find how to attract a young audience. In a way, tennis is in a great position, but at the same time, if we look at sports like Formula 1 and what they have done in terms of marketing, I think both circuits have to improve in terms of growing our sport. The Grand Slams will always be good. Our circuits have to improve,” he said.

He even participated in a study conducted by the Professional Tennis Players Association to present his views. “One of the studies conducted by the PTPA three years ago showed that tennis is the third or fourth most popular sport in the world, the most watched, after cricket. The first is football, the second is basketball, then tennis and then cricket. However, when it comes to business opportunities and how to capitalise on that popularity, tennis comes in ninth or tenth on the list. There is huge room for growth. We are fragmented as a sport, there are things we can look at collectively and improve. ” said the seven-time Wimbledon champion.

Nole knows that the moment in tennis is critical, especially because of the problems that exist at the amateur level, where the explosion of other disciplines has erased the historical dominance of tennis.

“Paddle tennis is growing and emerging, people have a good time with it, but they still think that tennis is tennis. Tennis is the king of racket sports, that’s true, but at club level it is in danger. If we do nothing, paddle tennis or pickleball will turn tennis clubs into paddle tennis or pickleball, simply because it is cheaper. . For a club owner, it is much more financially viable to build three paddle tennis courts in the space occupied by one tennis court. “It’s simple mathematics,” Djokovic replied.

A reality that, according to the Serb, is often left aside. “There is a lot of talk about the Grand Slam winner winning this and that. The emphasis is always on the big prize. And the roots? The work in this sense is poor, very poor. Tennis is a global sport, enjoyed by millions of kids who want to pick up a racket and play. However, we are not making it accessible . It is not so affordable, especially in countries like mine, without a strong federation with Grand Slam tournaments or big budgets,” he mentioned before specifying that all these criticisms only aim to show that the design of the circuit and the work of those who need improvements are necessary. They lead the sport in each nation.

“These are some of the things I would like to share. If we look at it holistically and globally, these are the challenges that we have to address. “They have been there for a long time, but I think we are not addressing them properly,” he said in conclusion.