Novak's Comments
After his Centre Court win at Wimbledon on Saturday, July 6, 2024, Novak Djokovic, 37, expressed concerns about the future of tennis, stating that "tennis is endangered." He warned, "If we don’t do something about it, globally or collectively, paddle — pickleball in the States — they’re gonna convert all the tennis clubs into paddle and pickleball".
Earlier in the press conference, Djokovic reflected on the state of tennis, emphasising the need for the sport to evolve and expand its audience. He observed, "Tennis, on one hand, is in a good place, but at the same time, when we look at Formula 1, for example, and what they’ve done in terms of marketing, in terms of growth of the sport — in terms of the races around the world and how popular they are — I think we need to do a better job on our respective tours." Despite tennis being a "very historic and a very global sport," Djokovic believes there’s "a huge space for growth" but noted that "we’re quite fractioned as a sport."
He continued by stressing the need for collective efforts to improve tennis, saying, "There are quite a bit of things for us to collectively look at and try to improve it. We need to grow the number of players that live from this sport." Djokovic also pointed out that pickleball is often more "economical" for club owners, who are motivated by financial considerations. "You can build three paddle courts on one tennis court," he explained. "Do the simple math. It’s just much more financially viable for the owner of the club to have those courts." He added, "In the grand scheme of things, we need to address all these challenges and issues. Because they’ve been out there for a while. I don’t think we’ve been addressing it in the proper way."
Currently ranked as the world’s No. 2 men’s singles player, Djokovic has amassed a record 24 Grand Slam men's singles titles, including a record 10 Australian Open titles. At age 20 in 2008, he broke Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s 11-consecutive-major streak by winning his first major title at the Australian Open.
Could Djokovic be correct?
Although Novak's comments may come as a surprise to some, it is not that surprising when you look at the underlying figures. In July 2024, for the first time, the number of people playing pickleball in a single month surpassed those playing tennis. This isn’t just a fluke – pickleball’s popularity is growing steadily. It’s a hit across all age groups, and interestingly, it has a higher participation rate among women compared to tennis. This surge can be attributed to pickleball’s inclusive nature, making it accessible and enjoyable for people of all skill levels and physical abilities.
Credit: UTR Sports
The figures also support the notion, with research from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA): Over the past five years, the SFIA calculates the number of players has had an annual average growth of 11.5%. Tennis, which has about 22.6 million players in the US, has seen an annual average growth of 4.9%. Similarly, padel is taking the UK by storm - more than 200 courts have been built to serve about 90,000 active players with the Lawn Tennis Association believing padel can be a gateway into tennis, as well as continuing to grow in its own right.
So the debate continues - can these racquet sports co-exist with each other, or will the 'battle' continue?
