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3 reasons why the UTS was a huge success for tennis

By Brandon Daniels

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 20: Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece celebrates winning his Men's Singles first round match against Salvatore Caruso of Italy on day one of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 20: Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece celebrates winning his Men's Singles first round match against Salvatore Caruso of Italy on day one of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images) /
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ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 06:Young Australia fans before the Davis Cup Qualifier Tie singles match between Jordan Thompson of Australia andThiago Monteiro of Brazil at Memorial Drive on March 06, 2020 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 06:Young Australia fans before the Davis Cup Qualifier Tie singles match between Jordan Thompson of Australia andThiago Monteiro of Brazil at Memorial Drive on March 06, 2020 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images) /

Mouratoglou’s youth movement vision will pay major dividends for the sport

The current coach of Serena Williams expressed his desire to bring tennis to the younger generations. He wanted to make tennis more than an “old-person sport” (for a lack of better terms). He certainly did that at the UTS.

The average age of a tennis fan is 61. Mouratoglou slashed that number in half with the average age of a fan at the UTS being 30. The fast-paced and heart-racing matches did exactly what it was designed to.

Adding to that, he not only brought in younger fans but also brought in an entirely new group of fans as a whole.

"“The goal was to bring new people to tennis and I can say that 50% of our audience were previously not watching tennis,” Mouratoglou said. “Secondly, we wanted to bring younger fans because the average age of a tennis fan is getting older."

It was clear that his vision came true. For fans that hadn’t previously seen tennis before just watched five-weeks of an introduction. The point-by-point urgency and fast-paced matches were easily digestible for anyone that hadn’t sat through a 3-hour tennis match.

The UTS provided the shallow end of the pool for new fans to dip their toes into. By testing the water with this unique event, they can slowly but surely become more invested in the traditional tennis match that takes place year-round.

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