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re: Wild sports stat of the day : an entire decade lost in men’s tennis
Posted on 5/28/25 at 8:46 pm to Cosmo
Posted on 5/28/25 at 8:46 pm to Cosmo
I’ve always had the theory that Sampras and the overwhelming use of serve and volley killed the popularity of men’s tennis during the ‘90s. With the sport being less popular, you had a lot less kids playing which led to a massive talent drain. It’s not a coincidence that the two great players from the next generation, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz came up through the mid to late 2000s when Federer and Nadal were at their peak and men’s tennis became massively popular again.
1
Posted on 5/28/25 at 8:56 pm to lsupride87
quote:
Also, tennis and golf have never been more popular in the USA at the junior level. Just thought this was worth correcting
Maybe by strictly the amount of players because our population has boomed. But few kids are playing tennis these days the US in regards to percentages. I’m not sure of a single one of my friends kids that play or a single friend of one of my kids that play.
Posted on 5/28/25 at 9:18 pm to baldona
quote:No, it’s at its highest level of popularity based even on percentages. You not knowing someone doesn’t mean much. It’s never been a popular sport at the macro level in this country at the junior level
Maybe by strictly the amount of players because our population has boomed. But few kids are playing tennis these days the US in regards to percentages. I’m not sure of a single one of my friends kids that play or a single friend of one of my kids that pla
This post was edited on 5/28/25 at 9:19 pm
Posted on 5/28/25 at 10:27 pm to Bench McElroy
quote:
Sampras and the overwhelming use of serve and volley killed the popularity of men’s tennis during the ‘90s
There were dudes who made the tour after who barely even could do that…Dr. Ivo, John Isner, Phillipousis
Posted on 5/28/25 at 10:28 pm to East Coast Band
quote:
Seems like there are public and private tennis courts all over that are almost all rarely used
They are used heavily by pickleball players.
Posted on 5/28/25 at 10:33 pm to Saunson69
quote:
Not at all peak human physicality.
Ever played a match?
Posted on 5/28/25 at 10:44 pm to lsupride87
quote:
Thiem(bullshite title though. Line judge Karen got Novak defaulted)
Agreed. Novak got fricked out of 3-4 potential titles with this and dumb Covid nonsense.
quote:
Medvedev-legit
Can't believe Djoko lost the calendar slam, but he was beat after winning 3 and playing/losing at the Olympics.
Anyway, in regards to the OP that's a crazy stat.
Posted on 5/28/25 at 10:45 pm to lsupride87
Confuse.
Too much parity?
Too much parity?
Posted on 5/28/25 at 10:55 pm to lsupride87
quote:
For those wondering why this happened, it’s just the 90s guys were choked on the front end and back end by absolutely freaks of nature
Front end
Djok/fed/nadal
Back end
Sinner and alcaraz
Ahh.
And maybe too much parity in the middle?
Posted on 5/29/25 at 7:36 am to Cosmo
quote:
Tennis boom died late 80s
Kids didnt really play tennis in 90s
I can remember in college back in the 80's, we'd ride around looking for courts to play on and sometimes it would take a while to find one open.
And I can also remember in the 90's and beyond riding by those same courts and if they were still up, no one was playing on them almost ever. It was a stark and notable contrast to me.
Posted on 5/29/25 at 10:51 am to rpg37
quote:Golf participation in the US is as high as it has ever been and has been growing consistently for nearly a decade.
With a declining white population in the USA and more sport offerings than ever before, the "country club" sports are seeing dropoffs nationwide in participation and global success. This trend will never change.
Posted on 5/29/25 at 1:08 pm to lsupride87
Federer was so good people quit at 10 lol
Posted on 5/29/25 at 1:15 pm to ThatMakesSense
quote:Great contribution to the thread. We were dying to hear your mature, informed opinion.
With all due respect, tennis is gayer than golf.
Posted on 5/29/25 at 2:48 pm to Saunson69
quote:
Not enough action
LOL
Posted on 5/29/25 at 3:34 pm to lsupride87
quote:
Omce again, that’s an American centric view Globally tennis is in a peak the last 20 years
Not really. You had much more varied styles of play in the 70's 80's way more serve and volley, and you still had your baseline players and some all court players. I find the game so boring to watch now vs back then. In fact now i would rather just go play than watch it on tv.
Posted on 5/29/25 at 4:11 pm to lsupride87
Apparently, the kids born in the 60s-70s are killing it in pickleball.
Posted on 5/29/25 at 4:12 pm to crash1211
quote:Umm, yes really. It’s not an opinion. Tennis absolutely boomed in popularity the last 20 years globally
Not really
This post was edited on 5/29/25 at 4:13 pm
Posted on 5/29/25 at 4:19 pm to lsupride87
This monfils vs. Draper match is epic.
Posted on 5/29/25 at 4:36 pm to lsupride87
I'm talking about aesthetics not the popularity of the game. The game was much more pleasing to watch in the late 70's early 80's because of the varied styles of play. also there were times in 50's up to early 70's that the USA wasn't the dominant force in tennis. Australia was the force at this time and the game was still interesting to watch because of various styles.
Plus popularity has a lot to do with exposure. You didn't have near the TV exposure of tennis in the 70's and 80's. It wasn't until early 90s you would see lesser tournaments tv. Before that it was just the majors.
Plus popularity has a lot to do with exposure. You didn't have near the TV exposure of tennis in the 70's and 80's. It wasn't until early 90s you would see lesser tournaments tv. Before that it was just the majors.
This post was edited on 5/29/25 at 4:52 pm
Posted on 5/29/25 at 4:40 pm to Cosmo
quote:
Tennis boom died late 80s
Kids didn't really play tennis in 90s
This is directly attributable to soccer as far as U.S tennis players go. The late 80s-90s is when soccer started really taking off in the U.S. and those kids previously would have been the type that played tennis. There was a good article about this several years ago.
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