20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer has been ranked as the second most popular contemporary sports personality in the UK, according to findings conducted by YouGov.
The Swiss world No.3 has been given the honour based on the YouGov rating system, which measures public opinion of famous people among the British public. The findings are split into categories based on age and gender before they are given an overall score. 37-year-old Federer had a popular opinion of 62% with 90% of respondents saying they have heard of him. He is the most popular sports personality in two out of the three age categories – Generation X (people born between 1965-1981) and Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964). However, he is only the third most popular among Millennials (born between 1982-1999).
Three out of the top five most popular sports personalities come from tennis. Andy Murray is in third place with 58%. The former Wimbledon champion returned to the tour in June after being sidelined from action for almost a year due to a hip injury. Murray has only been able to play six tournaments this year before opting to bring his season to an early close in September.
11-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal is fifth with a 54% positive opinion among the public. The world No.2 scored his highest rating among Baby Boomers (57% positive) and achieved an almost identical score among both men and women. Novak Djokovic, who recently returned back to world No.1, is 14th. Despite winning the Wimbledon championships and staging an impressive comeback during the second half of 2018, only 41% of Millennials surveyed had a positive opinion of him.
Concerning the stars of the WTA Tour, only the Williams sisters managed to crack the top 20. Serena came 15th and Venus 17th. However, Venus is the third most popular athlete among Millennials behind athlete Mo Farah and Murray. Caroline Wozniacki, who won this year’s Australian Open, is the only current top five player from the women’s tour ranked in the top 80 at 80th.
Jamie Murray, Heather Watson, Maria Sharapova and Johanna Konta were the next popular tennis players after the Williams sisters.
Most popular tennis players by age group, gender and overall rating
|
Rank |
Millennials |
Gen X |
Baby Boomers |
Men |
Women |
Overall score |
|
1 |
Murray |
Federer |
Federer |
Federer |
Andy Murray |
Federer |
|
2 |
Venus |
Andy Murray |
Andy Murray |
Andy Murray |
Federer |
Andy Murray |
|
3 |
Federer |
Nadal |
Nadal |
Nadal |
Nadal |
Nadal |
|
4 |
Serena |
Djokovic |
Jamie Murray |
Djokovic |
Serena |
Djokovic |
|
5 |
Nadal |
Serena |
Djokovic |
Sharapova |
Venus |
Serena |
|
6 |
Djokovic |
Venus |
Watson |
Jamie Murray |
Jamie Murray |
Venus |
|
7 |
Sharapova |
Jamie Murray |
Serena |
Serena |
Djokovic |
Jamie Murray |
|
8 |
Jamie Murray |
Watson |
Venus |
Venus |
Watson |
Watson |
|
9 |
Watson |
Sharapova |
Sharapova |
Watson |
Konta |
Sharapova |
|
10 |
Konta |
Konta |
Konta |
Wozniacki |
Sharapova |
Konta |
Note: findings conducted between 15th May 2018 and 31st October 2018.
Key
Millennials – born between 1982 and 1999
Gen X – born between 1965 and 1981
Baby Boomers – born between 1946 and 1964
Overall score – average score achieved based on all answers
