Mr. Tennis himself Novak Djokovic is calling for the tennis establishment to adapt to modern times and embrace the spirit of innovation. “Young people might watch the Grand Slams, but they’re not going to sit for four or five hours every day in front of a match,” said the 24 time Grand Slam winner after his first round win today at The Championships vs Yibing Wu in four tough sets.
“Attention spans have changed, and we need to understand how the current market works.”
“In my opinion, tournaments should experiment with more dynamic formats, shorter matches, and more appealing proposals for the spectator. The Grand Slams are another story, but outside of them, we must dare to innovate.”
The man who has been a professional on the ATP World Tour for over two decades, feels it is time for radical changes to the presentation of pro tennis outside of the Grand Slams.
Devout readers of the site know that I have presented several innovative ideas such as an over 35 OLD GEN tournament and a special invitation only 16 or 32 draw of players ranked between 101-1000 randomly selected out of hat – an event to offer lower ranked outsider players a chance to earn money, points. Of course a major sponsor would be needed to fund such a tournament.
This year a special one point tiebreak event debuted at Australian Open and it was a big success which generated a lot of hype and buzz as an outsider non-ranked pro actually won it.
More innovative ideas are needed as Djokovic has declared today.
Novak Djokovic · Wimbledon