Patrick Mouratoglou warns tennis is ‘in danger’ as he brands sport a ‘relic of the past’
Patrick Mouratoglou has issued a stark warning about the future of tennis, focusing on the sport’s lack of appeal to those under 30 and labelling it a ‘relic of the past’.
Mouratoglou first created the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in 2020, in an attempt to provide a unique alternative to the professional game.
The exhibition’s format centres around four quarters – each lasting eight minutes – with deciding points at deuce, a 15-second serve clock, as well as multiple bonus cards which provide for special tactics.
The Frenchman was speaking on the first day of the Bastide UTS Nîmes, its second appearance in the French city, and reiterated that tennis is in danger of being ignored by younger generations.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to reiterate that I never said tennis was doing badly,” Mouratoglou stated to Eurosport France.
“Tennis is doing extremely well. There are huge crowds in the stadiums, the TV rights are enormous, the tennis business is booming.
“It’s simply that the fanbase is getting older and it’s not being renewed. That’s the problem.
“Tennis is incredibly popular with people of my generation who, basically, discovered tennis in the 70s and 80s. The fanbase is huge, older, but it has money. So the sponsors are there, the TV rights too. Everything’s fine.
“Now, if we project ourselves 20, 30, or 40 years into the future, the fanbase won’t exist anymore. So there won’t be any more tennis.
“Preserving what we have, which is fantastic, but also thinking about the future, that’s what I’m saying. The ATP, the Grand Slams, are focused on the present.”
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Indeed, a 2019 study of American viewership found that the average age for tennis consumption is 61 years old – a statistic which is often cited by Mouratoglou.
The Frenchman believes the traditional match format no longer aligns with how under-30s consume entertainment, with shorter-form content increasingly preferred over full-length broadcasts.
Indeed, he insists that innovation is necessary to ensure that the fanbase continues to grow, rather than the average age.
“They do their job extremely well because they’re very profitable,” Mouratoglou continued.
“But nobody has thought about the future of tennis. That’s the goal of the UTS.
“Again, any sport, whatever it may be, is profitable and works as long as people watch it. If there’s no fan base, there are no sponsors, no audience.
“So if people under 30 don’t consume this type of product, tennis is in danger in 30 years.
“Tennis is a relic of the past. It was created before 1900, and the format has remained virtually unchanged since, if at all.
“Consumption patterns have completely shifted. Social media, streaming platforms, video games, people under 30 don’t consume content the way they used to.
“When I ask them, 100% tell me they don’t watch matches anymore. Too long. They watch highlights. The product isn’t suitable. It’s suited to us, to me. Not to those under 30.”
As well as founding the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, Mouratoglou has successfully coached the likes of Serena Williams, Simona Halep, and Naomi Osaka.
