Is there anyone for tennis? Not without our own stars
Our last hope at the Australian Open men’s and women’s singles competition was eliminated on Sunday night when Alex de Minaur was beaten in five sets. Now that our last chance is out, have we lost hope for the future? Spectators are booming but interest in playing tennis is declining. How do we encourage youngsters to participate in tennis without more big stars?
The Australian Open is one of our major sporting events.
There is nothing more Australian than walking around the tennis precinct waving Australian flags and barracking for Australian players.
The spectator attendance figures reflect this passion. These lovers of tennis will attend the festivities each year in January. The Australian Open is ingrained in their national psyche.
This is particularly evident for Baby Boomers who grew up in an era where Australian men and women ruled the tennis world. Post-World War 2 Australia moved from a homogenous British-background conservative society to a more open and culturally diverse one.
It was clearly changing and loyalty to the home country was declining. Sport again was one of the drivers used to unite Australians and it has been argued that it was an effective mechanism for assisting in the assimilation of newcomers.
Between 1950 and 1976, Australians dominated world tennis, claiming 100 grand slam titles. But this success in tennis was the result of a system which promoted sport at the grassroots and elite levels.
It was being played in schools (public and private) and the various community clubs, lots of wealthier Australians had home tennis courts; the point is boys and girls were not only encouraged to play but also had opportunities to play.
But the fanfare of the tennis precinct ultimately masks a problem which is confronting several sports including tennis: declines in the wider interest of the sport and in participation levels. Tennis participation in recent years has shrunk. Fewer young people are playing the sport at the grassroots. While other sports are growing, tennis is declining. There has been very little research undertaken to understand why this is the case. But having kids of my own, the cost of tennis must clearly prohibit participation. There are very few free courts and tennis lessons cost money. Tennis has virtually disappeared from the school sector.
The relationship between participation and role modelling is not a complex one. You watch your idols playing and winning, and then you play in the hope one day you may get to that level. Most of us never did.
But we did involve ourselves in a wonderful sport which catered for different skills and inclinations, had no concussion issues and then we engaged with our Australian superstars. It was also a great symbol of who we were.
The problem for Australian tennis is that without the stars, the interest will dwindle eventually. Without the support at the grassroots the idea of success seems distant.
Steve Georgakis is a senior lecturer in sports studies at the University of Sydney.