As alluded to above, the first topic up deals with the big story in tennis the past couple of weeks: Federer's decision to drop out of Stockholm, and possibly shut it down for the rest of '08. Here's the money quote from his website:
"2008 has been a tough year for me as I was always playing catch up after being diagnosed with mononucleosis at the beginning of the year. I feel fortunate to be healthy again, but I want to remain at the top of the game for many more years to come and go after the #1 ranking again. In order to do that, I need to get a proper rest and get strong again so that I am 100% fit for the remainder of the year or next year. At this point, I am not sure when I will be ready to play again, but I hope to be back at some point before the end of the year. I apologize to the tennis fans in Sweden as I was looking forward to playing in Stockholm again. The country has produced so many incredible tennis players and the tournament has such a great history. I hope to be able to come back at some point in the future."
This opens up the broader Pandora's box of player commitment and tournament promotion. Tournament directors want players to play; they bank on them showing in order to sell tickets, gain sponsorship, and grow their event from year to year. But injury and fatigue conspire to prevent players from meeting these commitments. Sometimes it's not even injury or illness, but just a lack of interest in the sport. Part of the reason I can't get into the womens' game is because the top females can't pull it together to show up consistently enough at events to create a compelling narrative. On the other hand, over the past 4 years Federer (and to a slightly lesser extent Nadal) has been an absolute workhorse, playing all year long and honoring his commitments.
Part of this lies in the nature of the sport. The international travel required of tennis players must be hugely draining; I can't imagine what it must be like to travel from one culture to another, trying to maintain some sort of balance so that your level of play on court doesn't suffer. When I travel I freak out about eating chicken in unknown restaurants for fear of salmonella (I know, I'm weird). Also, as a singular sport, you have no one to lean on when you're injured; you can't go on the DL and leave it up to your teammates to take the field in your absence. A better comparison would be golf, or even boxing, and the same holds true there. Let's face it, when Tiger doesn't show up for an event, it just ain't the same.
So what's the answer? How can you alleviate the stress of the tour so that players can hold up their end of what Pete Bodo calls the player-fan pact? There are those (and I include myself here) that have called for a shorter tennis season. This would ensure that players have sufficient time to recuperate, as well as giving fans time to "miss" the sport and want to see it again. I've decided this theory is bunk. First, most players take plenty of breaks during the season anyway. After the Australian Open and early US hard court swing, there's a break until the clay court season. To be fair, it's a torrid couple of months to get from there until the end of Wimbledon, but then you've got another break. Last year Federer took something like 4 or 5 weeks off after Wimbledon. Then you've got the 2nd half of the hard court season concluding with the US Open, break, and the weird European indoor season ending with the Year End Championships. Second, live tennis is already plenty scarce on TV. I've got the Tennis Channel and I still don't see a ton of tennis (although Kerry might beg to differ). However, the most important reason this isn't going to happen is because of the way the tour is set up. The ATP "sells" weeks of the year to promoters, and at this point the calendar is all bought up. To create more of an offseason, the ATP would have to buy back those weeks AND give up the income they generate. That friends, would be a legal and financial nightmare.
I think the key is to create a compelling cast of characters so that even when one or two don't show up, you have other stars there to shoulder the load. I'd like to see the ATP loosen up on the rules of behavior for players while they're on court. Maybe we don't need a racket or ball abuse warning every time the players let off some steam. Tennis players are coached to avoid wasting energy on emotion, but this is precisely what fans want to see and connect with. Thoughts?
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2 comments:
I don't agree that this is a true problem.
(a) Players (in the ATP anyway) generally show up for the "important" tournaments anyway. Most players aren't skipping a ton of Masters Series events anyway.
(b) Who exactly are the customers that are lost when a big name drops out of a tournament? The core tennis fanbase will not suddenly be turned off to the sport because Federer didn't show up to their East Bumblefugg tournament - but we knew that already.
What about the casuals who are targets for complete conversion? Do they really book tickets to a tennis tournament in advance with the hope of seeing a particular player? I'd say that if they booked in advance targeting a particular player then they're already demonstrating a commitment to the sport.
Maybe player cancellations cause some minority to stop buying tickets but I'd say this is just about finding something to blame for lackluster ticket sales.
a) I agree. This isn't a problem (yet), because the ATP has made all the Masters Series mandatory; if you don't show up, you get a 0 for points that can't be made up. This is a pretty stiff penalty and nothing like it exists on the womens' side right now. Really though this hasn't been a problem because Federer and Nadal have been showing up at the Masters Series events for a while, and they have been by far the biggest draw for the men. Let's face it, if Davydenko were to skip a few, there wouldn't be a public outcry.
b) It's more of a dagger in the trust for future deals; a fan that might buy a ticket in advance hoping that Federer shows up might not be so willing to do so next year. Or fans that don't buy their ticket in advance but would have gone had Federer showed up. The real damage, though, is done with the sponsors and TV advertisers. If you market your event promising to reach, let's say 1 million TV viewers, and only get 250k due to a Federer and Nadal pull-out, those advertisers aren't going to reinvest next year. Or if they are, they will only do so at a lower cost. Revenue for the tournament goes bye bye.
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