“We might have lost our way,” Australian Open closes on a note of uncertainty on the future of doubles tennis as Craig Tiley candidly reveals the viewership struggle

The doubles event has always attracted significantly fewer fans as compared to the singles.

“We might have lost our way,” Australian Open closes on a note of uncertainty on the future of doubles tennis as Craig Tiley candidly reveals the viewership struggle

Craig Tiley (L), Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden (R) (Sources: News24, ATP Tour)

The future of professional doubles Tennis is apparently under threat due to a lack of viewership and some recent words by Australian Open director Craig Tiley have added to the concern for understandable reasons. According to reports, the ATP has pursued a review for the doubles event and it might impact the ATP tour as well as the Grand Slam events. The organization is said to be focusing on bringing new fans to the sport and the doubles might not fit with that aim. 

Craig Tiley expressed his concern about the fact that the tennis community has lost its focus and said that they need to make more meaningful decisions. He suggested that instead of getting approval before taking action, sometimes it’s better to take the initiative and seek forgiveness later.

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I think we might have lost our way a little bit, we’re not meaning enough--We’ve got to get things right, and we can’t keep spinning our wheels on things, and make some decisions.
Craig Tiley (H/T: The Guardian)

Tiley also said:

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 I take an approach from a leadership point of view that I’d rather ask for forgiveness than permission because otherwise you’re just not going to be able to move at the speed that you can move at. The sport globally needs to look at it the same way, and do some things that really help it accelerate. 

The doubles event has always attracted significantly fewer fans as compared to the singles. The 2024 Australian Open men’s doubles final between Rohan Bopanna – Matthew Ebden and Simone Bolelli – Andrea Vavassori, had much fewer fans in the crowds to watch it live compared to the women’s singles final between Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng that was played right before this match.

Considering the fact that the Australian Open had a record attendance of more than a million fans across the two weeks of competition this time, these numbers are indeed concerning. The Australian Open has tried to inculcate changes that bring in younger fans to the stadium and they include more access to seats during matches, a courtside bar, and outside entertainment. 

Matthew Ebden reveals how doubles is often ignored by the governing bodies 

Australian doubles tennis player Matthew Ebden, who recently won the men’s doubles title at the 2024 Australian Open with his Indian partner Rohan Bopanna, has been an active member of the ATP Player Advisory Council for quite a few years now. Even he has opined that the organizers and decision-makers often tend to forget or rather ignore the doubles players. 

Matthew Ebden
Matthew Ebden (Source: Tennis Australia)
There is space for tennis in doubles to have fans engaged, closer to the court, maybe some music, maybe no sitting down after one end. Just keep the game running, keep it interactive. 
Ebden said

Ebden’s words are in direct contradiction with that of Craig Tiley and the second-ranked doubles player in the world has been sided by many tennis fans over his take on the topic. The ultimate decision of ATP will only be out in the future and fans will have to wait for it. 

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