Wimbledon 2022 – Digital vs Tradition

Although tennis is only the fifth most popular sport in the UK statistically, also not the most popular racquet sport, as badminton takes that crown; its summer hosting of Wimbledon still attracts a spectacular viewership each year. In 2021, 25.8 million people watched Wimbledon 2021 on BBC TV and a total of 29.4 million streams on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport combined made it the most-streamed Wimbledon ever.

So why does there seem to be a different type of spectator that attends Wimbledon and Tennis matches compared to other sports? Because there is a seemingly significant class divide between the likes of people that go to watch Wimbledon in their crisp white outfits that gives off scents of money, and the average working-class person that will go and watch the football/rugby with their mates every weekend, and what are Wimbledon is doing to bridge that gap.

One of the first reasons it is challenging to create a cult following as it is an individual sport, so it is harder for a fan or a group of people to become affiliated with a team and have a sense of unity, belief, and love – as some people opt to side with their countrymen, like Brits supporting Andy Murray or Spaniards following the great Rafael Nadal, as there are only a few stars that stay at the top level for a significant amount of time, it is harder for that bond to develop – let alone grow into something on a bigger scale.

To even access tickets for Wimbledon is a challenge. Unlike football matches where unless it’s one of the big draws like Manchester United or Liverpool, you can usually buy a ticket for most domestic matches, with appropriate planning at least, Wimbledon is like that of Glastonbury Festival as you must apply and be placed into the public ballot to be considered for the tickets. Combine that with the fact that a large portion of more popular matches tickets are taken by a string of VIPs dressed to the nines, and the cost for a regular ticket certainly usurps the one to that of your local match – however, the difference in the quality of the sport compared to lower league football certainly plays a part. Ticket prices are cheap enough if you just want access to the grounds, but they are still around an average of £15, which is the equivalent of paying to stand outside Old Trafford to watch the match on TV.

With the prices rising to £240 for just a basic ticket for the final, with numerous possible upgrades available, there is no wonder there is such a big class difference in who watches the sport in person.

However, the sport of tennis is becoming much more popular, as there are multiple more people having access at the grassroots level to play fun games with their friends, which is an excellent bridge gap to increasing the awareness of the sport. Wimbledon does wonders for the popularity of Tennis in England, as iconic championships like these make people want to get involved in the sport rather than just viewing it as more of a sport for the elite.

The fact that the tournament is shown on national free television, broadcast on BBC live every year, increases the awareness of the sport rather than putting it behind a paywall. And this will help increase the amount of discourse surrounding the tournament and sport on social media, whether that is positive or negative; as any publicity is 100% good, as it draws more eyes, the consequences, and eventually money into the sport.

In terms of social media strategy, Wimbledon is fantastic at implementing a strategy whereby they pump out so much content and key information that it floods their followers' feeds, thus making them more interested in Tennis, like today, on the day of writing the official Instagram account has posted 34 times so far and have around 20 active stories, which is ridiculously good work rate for their team. In terms of user interactivity, this is something the account does extremely well, as each story has a layer of interactivity that is possible for the viewers. From quizzes and video links to buying official merchandise and Q&As, the account seems to have it all covered. Having highlights of each day for easy access for followers is another great feature of their account.

In terms of the social platform that every business/event needs to increase its following and connect with its audience, TikTok, and Wimbledon again shine. With over 1.5 million followers and 42.3 million likes, it is safe to say that they are successful in their video platform strategy, however, they only post around 5 times a day, which probably is not optimal in terms of performance CPA and likes-wise, however, it is definitely enough to get younger people interested in the sport and competition.

The gap that needs bridging is their lack of a star whose charisma and entertainment abilities bring millions of eyes to the sport, with a similar kind of impact to the one that Conor McGregor had with the UFC. And it is not someone like Novak Djokovic, despite his immense talents, who got famous for the wrong reasons in the last year over COVID vaccine issues. Although the sport has had household names such as Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray; it seems that the Australian star Nick Kyrgios seems to be making the most headlines with his charisma. From wacky serves to respond to the crowd's jokes, albeit if he sometimes does get angry about what they have to say, he seems to be causing commotion and increased popularity in the sport.

Also, the women's side of the game, which has been unfortunately glossed over in comparison to the men's (less so than in other sports, in fairness), has its own star in teenage sensation Emma Radacanu who has certainly made more of a mainstream name for herself and has definitely brought eyes to the sport through her digital prowess, let alone her amazing tennis skills.

Hardcore tennis fans are not too favourable to some of his actions as a lot of them including him ignoring the dress code for press conferences are seen as attention-seeking and disrespectful… it is seeming to be bringing a whole new generation of eyes that have come from digital platforms and spheres to tennis who would previously not been interested at all with the sport.

Are you tuning in to Wimbledon this year?