View Full Version : Tennis as an elitist sport.

07-31-2006, 10:27 AM
I'm just curious, does anyone else think that tennis should be marketed as more of an elitist sport again instead of an 'anybody can do this anywhere' sport? I can't remember where I heard it at, but I read an article on this theory and the author believed that the reason golf is so successful while tennis struggles is that golf is still marketed as a country club sport.

An average joe can go to the golf course and be in the same position as a multimillionaire who is out to enjoy a few rounds. I don't play golf personally, but even I enjoy walking into a nice golf club just due to the fact that it makes you feel like your part of a select group. The same applies for when I walk into a very nice tennis club -- you feel as though you are among the elite of society and it makes you feel good (even though you may just be an average joe).

This is just my opinion and the opinion of whatever author I heard it from. I'm curious to find out what others think on this issue, and if tennis could be more popular if it was marketed the same way as golf.

07-31-2006, 10:33 AM
You may have something there. I'm not certain, though, that that environment would necessarily be conducive to younger players, such as those 12 year olds getting into the sport. Might be offputting. The great problem is that people find tennis technically difficult at first, so perhaps earlier racquet swinging would help

07-31-2006, 10:44 AM
No. Why exclude a huge group of people that could potentially improve the level of talent? So you feel special? Call your mom if you need that. Most of my friends refuse to play tennis with me because of the elitist/club nature of the game. IMO all this does is exclude minorities.

07-31-2006, 10:47 AM
Don't worry about tennis needing to be marketed as an elitist sport- the bills start rolling in- it's an elitist sport.

07-31-2006, 10:47 AM
reason why is golf is a bit more expensive to do than tennis. Golf courses cost a lot to maintain - that cost goes partly into the fees, and to get a better course means less people by charging more. etc.

07-31-2006, 11:02 AM
Join a toney tennis club, IF you can. When you start paying $25K for initiation fees and another $5K to $10K per year to knock around the little yellow ball you will think again. Been there, done that. Also, some of the cheapest clubs have some of the best players. Go figure.


07-31-2006, 11:08 AM

I've been very surprised at how cheap tennis is as an adult. One of the reasons I stayed away for so long after burning out at 17 was the "I don't have enough money" excuse. To make a long story short, including club dues my tennis habit runs around $100 / month. Not that painful.

07-31-2006, 11:26 AM
Also remember that I am talking of only marketing tennis as a country club sport. Not necessarily making it one via upped cost. I know of very many tennis clubs that are surprisingly affordable (14 dollars for an all day pass at clay courts isn't bad in my opinion) but they market themselves as being top of the line invitational establishments.

The affordability is still there, but the elite sense cannot be denied as a powerful tool for both generating interest and keeping it there. There are a lot of young people that wear 85 dollar shirts and 125 dollar jeans because it creates an 'elite' feel via that little logo. They are no different except the way they are marketed. For some reason I find it hard to believe that these juniors wouldn't follow the same reasoning to play a sport they perceive as elite.

You can't disagree with the fact that golf is more popular than tennis in most areas. I know that at the schools around here, there are more juniors starting in golf than in tennis, and it certainly isn't because golf is marketed to minorities and to average joes (at least I don't see it that way).

07-31-2006, 12:29 PM
Actually, tennis is already an elitist sport, since it takes a lot of time to start to feel proficient in it, thus dropping out a lot of possible players.

08-01-2006, 03:21 AM
discrimination is wrong.end of.i dont think it should be marketed to one demographic because it then excludes all the other people,people who could grow up to be great players!how many atp players are from humble backrounds i wonder?

08-01-2006, 03:49 AM
The people who try to wear their status won't flock to a game that exposes your fitness and level of skill so quickly. As we all know you can drop a lot of cash on tennis, it is just thaat you don't have to.
I agree with the point that it is the difficulty of gaining a high enough skill level to make the game enjoyable for a lifetime that leads players to drift away. After forty years in this game, I've seen the toll that age an other responsibilities take on plyers, with the drop_out rate being an inverse relationship to the persons level of play. IMHO>:cool:

08-01-2006, 05:07 AM
Here in the Minneapple inner cty tennis is big with many programs, and tennis is the cheapest sport there is ( next to soccer ) when the weather is warm.

08-01-2006, 05:15 AM
I saw a spot on CNBC last week where they said that Tennis had the largest growth of players last year in over two decades. Ball sales are up 5%.

I'm just guessing, but I'd bet that most of these new players aren't new country club members.