Over the past few years, tennis viewership has seen an alarming fall with time. Take the example of the WTA Finals which took place in Riyadh earlier this month. A bare handful of spectators attended the match of Iga Swiatek in a stadium with a seating capacity of about 5,000 people. The visual was quite disturbing from a fan’s perspective. While leagues like the NBA and the NFL are thriving, it might be the time for tennis to follow some of the strategies implemented by these leagues, according to Australian tennis star, Nick Kyrgios.

Although the 29-year-old has been away from tennis for quite some time now, he is following the action closely. Additionally, he is preparing for a comeback early next year and aims to play in the Australian Open. During this week’s episode of The Sit-Down podcast, Kyrgios pointed out some of the changes that tennis should implement. Among them was having a microphone on the players’ outfits.

Talking about this, he said, “I wish players had a microphone. Look at the NBA, they put a microphone inside the jersey around the collar, so you can’t feel it. Not doing that (in tennis) seems absurd to me – why not put a microphone on Novak or Alcaraz so you can hear what they’re saying? Some of these amazing athletes, I do it myself sometimes, talk to themselves before big points. The content you could create from that would keep tennis fans glued to their phones.”

Over the past two editions of the Australian Open, the viewership numbers of Channel 9, the official broadcaster of the tournament, have been badly hit. Kyrgios’ absence might be a factor as well. He is the local star and is often termed as a crowd-puller. His antics draw in a large audience who tune in to the coverage. Nonetheless, his return next year is set to come as a major boost to the broadcaster, as they will hope for improved figures once Kyrgios comes back.

Nonetheless, tennis viewership continues to struggle at a time when the popularity of Pickleball is rising exponentially. Even tennis legend, Andy Murray, highlighted this issue during an interview once.

Andy Murray clarifies the drop in television ratings

Murray, who retired earlier this year after the Paris Olympics, has seen the glory days when tennis viewership used to peak. His era comprised the golden generation of stars like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, apart from him. However, with three of these four players retired now, tennis viewership might continue to take the hit.

During an interview last year, Murray opened up about the drop in the viewership figures at the Australian Open, citing, “I think a drop in interest in Australia was to be expected, Roger Federer, Ashleigh Barty, and Nick Kyrgios were missing but I’m not sure this situation applies in every country.”

Additionally, television expert, Colin Vickery, also clarified, “We know that Novak Djokovic is certainly not a tennis player who attracts ratings, so the fact that he participated this year and not last year changes very little. Tennis is going through a transition phase, Roger Federer no longer plays and at the moment there are very few interesting ideas.”

Thus, it is crucial that tennis implements innovative ideas like Kyrgios suggested to curb the massive decline in viewership numbers. If it continues going this way, the future of the sport is certainly in danger.