Tennis shouldn’t fight a battle it can’t win

Expert consultant agrees: Participation is key!

Author

Rich Neher
March 14, 2024

Illustration by art_rog-sanremo

I read the article “Sport shouldn’t fight a battle it can’t win” by Roger Mitchell, of the Swiss consulting firm Albachiarra several times before it dawned on me: This is directly relatable to tennis. Almost as if it was written for our sport.

Albachiarra describes their business as “We analyze companies’ problems and needs, and then frame customized solutions, upon which we execute, based on clients’ needs.”

Roger compares the ups and downs of the “longest-running annual TV music competition in the world” with sports and its challenges and his conclusions are intriguing. I quote, “Like say baseball, it increasingly was watched only as a nostalgia trip by my mother’s generation, largely abandoned by younger audiences who didn’t want to be associated with the middle-of-road cringe product on offer. The best artists didn’t go. It was no longer a good look for their credibility. This year, instead, Sanremo broke all TV audience records and the viewership was dominated by kids, new music, son-of-immigrants artists, and rampant Gen Z rebellion. In recent years, it has uncovered and propelled fresh young stars like rock group Måneskin onto international success. Street credibility on steroids.”

As an experienced consultant from “hard-nosed finance to soft skills in selling,” Roger’s analyses are spot on:

Rather than sport spending bucket loads of money (on marketing, tech, and content), to distract casual fans from everything else they do on their screens, wouldn’t it be better to invest in the one thing we know always fosters fan passion for a lifetime? By getting them to actually participate in a sport and feel direct connection/ownership. 

Roger Mitchell

I encourage individuals within the tennis industry, particularly the USTA leadership, ATP/WTA, and ITF executives, to carefully read this article. It is crucial for them to contemplate whether their efforts to attract casual fans truly yield a favorable return on investment. This is particularly relevant when examining events like the US Open and other prominent tennis tournaments, as it becomes apparent that their primary focus may not be on fostering the growth of the sport. It is imperative to question the rationale behind such approaches.

For twenty years we have lived in a world of scale, and total addressable market (TAM) expansion. That was the Silicon Valley playbook. Some may not have noticed, but that world ended about two years ago, as the cost of capital rose.

We now all need to think differently. Maybe the “something” we need to do isn’t about changing the core of the product. and its authenticity, to net some fresh fish.

Maybe it’s in getting kids off their screen and onto a field of play. To actually participate.

Why bother marketing our butt off trying to convert a TikTok or GTA addict to come and have a look at rugby? You may get them for a second with your docu-series, but they’re not really passionate about you. They are the one-night-stand fans. The what-have-you-done-for-me-lately fans. They will flip and dump you, as soon as you don’t give them a content sugar rush every 5 seconds.

Roger Mitchell

I want to stop here and let you read the rest. It is worth your time! Participation grows tennis. I suggest Lew Sherr hire Albachiarra and get tennis back on the road to growth.

What do our readers think? Is participation key to growing tennis?