TENNIS in DEPTH.

Whether you are a fan of Tiger Woods or not, or whether you simply dismiss his behaviour as predictably expected, it will be interesting to measure the impact his ‘indefinite’ absence from the game will have on golf. When he was out having surgery in the summer the TV ratings dropped 50%, the sales of golf equipment, club memberships and tuition plummeted around the world. To put a value on his presence at the Major tournaments and his value to golf in general is impossible, but it is obviously huge.

Does Roger Federer have a similar impact on tennis? If he retired from the ATP Tour would the tour collapse? Would a prolonged absence due to injury deplete the attendance at Wimbledon or the US Open? The answer is No!

Did Nadal’s absence for four months have a negative effect on the game? No! Did the WTA’s receipts decline because Sharapova was out for almost a year? No!

Tennis fans in general are more tuned-in to the game rather than to the personalities of the players. Tennis is more about ‘sport’ than ‘entertainment’.

One of the major reasons that tennis’s scandals have been limited to a couple of failed drug tests, a betting fiasco, and a tirade of expletives from several players, and nothing worse, is because with only a few exceptions, tennis players are single. Who sleeps with who, if you’re single, is fine. Sure, we all like to know the details, but there are no moral issues involved.

So Messrs Federer, Roddick,and Davydenko we will all be watching your every move!

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