Tennis could be ‘in danger’ as fewer young fans tune in, says Patrick Mouratoglou

Tennis has seen a surge in popularity over the past few years, with a number of players becoming global household names.

On the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have become two of the most recognisable faces on tour, while Alexandra Eala has brought a new wave of Filipino fans into the sport.

Yet despite tennis enjoying more visibility than ever, Patrick Mouratoglou still harbours concerns about where things are headed.

Patrick Mouratoglou voices concern over tennis losing touch with younger fans

In an interview with Eurosport France, Mouratoglou shared his worries about where tennis is heading.

He said: “Young people don’t watch tennis, all the studies have shown that. It’s essential to get them involved in the sport if we want tennis to still be as popular in 30 or 40 years.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to reiterate that I never said tennis was doing badly. Tennis is doing extremely well. There are huge crowds in the stadiums, the TV rights are enormous, the tennis business is booming. It’s simply that the fanbase is getting older and it’s not being renewed. That’s the problem.”

Mouratoglou feels that if tennis doesn’t find a way to connect with younger generations soon, it risks fading away.

The UTS boss explained: “Tennis is incredibly popular with people of my generation who, basically, discovered tennis in the 70s and 80s. The fanbase is huge, older, but it has money. So the sponsors are there, the TV rights too. Everything’s fine.

“Now, if we project ourselves 20, 30 or 40 years into the future, this fanbase will no longer exist,” he added. “So there won’t be any more tennis.”

Mouratoglou launched UTS back in {{YEAR_1}} as part of an effort to bring young fans into tennis by offering a format with faster rules compared to what they’re used to seeing on tour.

The French coach isn’t new to these kinds of conversations around youth engagement either – he brings plenty of experience from working closely with players like Holger Rune and Naomi Osaka.

Patrick Mouratoglou calls tennis a ‘relic of the past’

Mouratoglou hasn’t held back in criticising traditional tennis, pointing to its resistance to change and suggesting even some players aren’t happy with how things stand.

In the same interview, the Greek coach explained: “Tennis is a relic of the past. It was created before 1900, and the format has remained virtually unchanged since, if at all.

“Consumption patterns have completely shifted. Social media, streaming platforms, video games… people under 30 don’t consume content the way they used to.”

Mouratoglou said that many professional players have stopped watching full matches altogether because they’re too long.

“When I ask them, 100% tell me they don’t watch matches anymore. Too long. They watch highlights. The product isn’t suitable. It’s suited to us, to me. Not to those under 30.”

The UTS’ format consists of four quarters which do not go any longer than eight minutes in length.

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