Tennis-holding high-rating
The European season which is currently on, has another angle in Tennis challenges. The spring and summer of Europe is all about outdoor sports. In this atmosphere Tennis has to show strength if it is to be prominent in the European sporting arena. 2015 Fench-Open which will begin in the last week of May and is the second Grand Slam in a year, marks the half way mark of the professional Tennis circuit for women and men.
Already this year the professional circuit has tested the players. While good successes were registered by some, more than a few have paid their price physically and psychologically. Some players are facing tactical bankruptcy and seeking new inspiration, like changing the coaches. While players face their hurdles, ATP and WTA being the franchise holders of the global professional events which are in many tiers, have the responsibility to see that the events have enough appeal, game and player-wise to attract spectators and thereby sponsorship to survive the European season. For them the show must go on and what more, it has to be better than what other sports and entertainment offer.
In the past, the major Tennis events were National Championships of countries and continental championships like the Asian and European. This is no more so. All major events are those which are linked to the WTA and ATP circuit. This has left many good national players of many countries without access to major events and the possibility to enter the world ranking. Only a handful of countries have the capacity in prize money, mega venues and management to stage what is expected of by the WTA and the ATP and thereby have their national championships linked to the professional circuit. If these requirements are not met in events the ‘elite-pack’ of Tennis players will not come to play.
The world ranking goes well over a thousand in each gender. The media finds only the top 30 to be attractive for global viewers. The top ten gets very close scrutiny and often this burdens the players than motivating them. The ATP and WTA have devised various effective methods to make it easy for players and event organizers to stage a good event. One of the requirements for a good event is the presence of as many players as possible from the ‘elite pack’. Currently the top 30 of both genders are attracted by the four Grand-Slams which are also compulsory for ranking. Apart from that the ATP 500s and the ATP 1000s for men and the WTA equivalent for women are the attractive events for these players.
There is a definite visible drop in the playing standard of the second 30 of the world ranking compared to the first. Targeted audiences of the print and electronic media need high-end menu to satisfy their appetite. This means any player who is not in the top 30 is not prime-time material. For those not in the top 30, there are other events which are lower in prize money and points rating from ATP, WTA and also from ITF (International Tennis Federation) called the Futures. Often these players are in the media focus but many young talented players use the second and subsequent tiers to mature and surface providing fresh blood to revive Tennis interest. Great players such as Rafael Nadal, Boris Becker and presently Romania’s Simona Halep and Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard came to being in this manner. But, they are not the only ones to surface this way. Quite often seasoned players wait here and surprise the Tennis world, striking at the right time for gold. We had two such instances in the last two years. Last year 2014 US-Open winner Croatian, Marin Cilic did exactly that and two years ago French player, Marion Bartoli won Wimbledon doing this.
When test cricket lost its spectator appeal we all are aware of the changes cricket went through to become popular ‘again’. Not all of it is welcomed by the Cricket purists. It is the same in Tennis. Tie-break which is all accepted now was a controversy in Tennis when it was forced upon to accommodate television’s limited time. After that many changes have come to being to accommodate the modern era. These have made Tennis a skill-oriented game rather than an endurance based sport.
Doubles in Tennis suffered in popularity and most events did not want to stage doubles. However, changes in the scoring system and making the final set to be a tie-break has increased doubles’ spectator appeal. It has also made the game skill-based and less taxing physically. This aspect has given good, older players a second lease of life on the Tennis courts. It also has provided the opportunity to see the big names in action again. The appearance of Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza in doubles was due to this change.
The number of events in many big cities of Europe in April and May show the popularity of Tennis in Europe. The other continent which took to Tennis ‘big time’ was the Americas. In recent times, Tennis popularity in the Americas has become a ‘seasonal breeze’. Tennis needs round the year kindling to be popular, produce skilled players and to be attractive to spectators. Absence of this is the reason behind Asia’s few and far between appearance of players and the absence of good players in countries like Sri Lanka.
While development can make players technical, only participation in events will make them tactical. The players who are technical and tactical can easily reach top 200 of the world. Sri Lanka’s Arjun Fernando and Suresh Sivagnanam are the only two from Sri-Lanka to have reached this realm of perfection and recognition. Harshana Godamanne, who is easily the best we have had in recent times, tactically does not match his technical ability. I feel he still can make it if he is willing. Meanwhile it is the ‘European spring’ in Tennis and looks like it will stay like that for a good while.