With the Australian Open set to begin, has the Big Four’s era of dominance already ended? January 9, 2019 As the first grand slam event on the tennis calendar, the Australian Open is traditionally a time of new beginnings, although this year there is an inescapable sense of something ending too. Should they all make it to the start line, there is a distinct possibility that this will be the last time the Big [...]
Five key ways data analytics is changing the way tennis is played November 15, 2018 Data has an ever-increasing presence in tennis as coaches use new analytical tools to gain the slightest, but all-important, advantages for their players. Leading figures from the sport discussed new trends this week at an event held by Infosys in London to coincide with the ATP Finals. Here are five key ways in which data [...]
Chris Kermode interview: ATP Tour chief on the men’s tennis circuit’s rebranding, efforts to attract new audiences and the future of London’s ATP Finals host status November 13, 2018 The iceberg looming for men’s tennis is the shelf life of the superstar players who have virtually monopolised the game’s top prizes for the last decade – according to conventional wisdom, at least. Chris Kermode, president and executive chairman of the ATP Tour, has bigger worries, however. For Kermode, the greatest challenge facing the elite [...]
Kyle Edmund: Can the British No1 make it to the ATP Finals in London next month? October 10, 2018 Kyle Edmund may have lost last weekend in the semi-finals of the China Open, with eventual winner Nikoloz Basilashvili denying him the opportunity to win a maiden ATP title, but an even greater prize still remains well within his reach this year. The British No1, who has risen from 50 to a career-high 14 in [...]
ATP World Tour’s exciting final few months is defined by withdrawals as race to world No1 is ruined by injuries October 2, 2018 When Novak Djokovic held the US Open trophy aloft last month, his return to the elite level of tennis was resoundingly complete. Alongside confirming his legacy as one of the greats with back-to-back grand slam titles, Djokovic also reignited the race for the world No1 ranking. The Serbian is currently ranked third, and has 6,445 [...]
Is it time tennis allowed on-court coaching? September 23, 2018 Serena Williams’s now-infamous exchange with umpire Carlos Ramos during her US Open final defeat to Naomi Osaka earlier this month provoked extensive debate across the media landscape about sexism, gender roles and perceived double standards in sports officiating. It also revived debate over the issue of in-game coaching. Williams was penalised for three code [...]
Amazon Prime’s US Open coverage represents a missed opportunity for streaming September 9, 2018 When Amazon purchased the UK television rights for the US Open earlier this year in a £30m five-year deal, the acquisition seemed like the next stage of streaming giants acting as great disruptors to the established media order. Potentially, Amazon could shape live sports broadcasting in ways that we can't yet imagine, much in the [...]
Wimbledon 2018: What Roger Federer’s $300m Uniqlo deal tells us about the state of tennis sponsorship July 8, 2018 On the eve of Wimbledon, men’s tennis news was again dominated by the same old names: Andy Murray’s late withdrawal, Novak Djokovic’s re-built serving action, Rafael Nadal’s lack of grass-court preparation and, of course, Roger Federer’s bumper new kit deal with Japanese brand Uniqlo. This is no surprise to the casual fan, for the Big [...]
Wimbledon 2018: Zverev, Dimitrov, Del Potro, Kyrgios, Cilic – Can anybody challenge Federer and Nadal? July 1, 2018 Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have a stranglehold on men’s tennis. It’s not the first time the two greats of the game have combined to monopolise the grand slams, but with those two legends aged 36 and 32 respectively some might have expected their superpowers to be on the wane. They’re not. Federer and Nadal [...]
French Open prize money 2018: How much do players get paid for winning at Roland Garros? June 9, 2018 More prize money is up for grabs than ever before at this year’s French Open but it remains the least lucrative of the four Grand Slams for players to win. The winners of the men’s and women’s singles finals this weekend will both take home a tournament record €2.2m (£1.9m/$3.1m) for triumphing on the clay [...]