The mastermind behind the newly created Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) has said the event has been seen by an estimated 50% of viewers who hadn’t previously watched tennis before.
Patrick Mouratoglou, who is the coach of Serena Williams, spoke out about the exhibition tournament during a video interview with Ubitennis on Sunday. Held at his academy located in the heart of the French Riviera, the UTS has a unique format compared to traditional tennis with players such as Matteo Berrettini and Stefanos Tsitsipas playing. Matches are played in four 10-minute quarters with players serving twice alternatively. Organisers say their format has been ‘inspired by e-sports with fast-paced action, new rules, and plot twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat.’
The inaugural edition of the tournament will conclude on Sunday evening after taking place during the weekends over the past month. Mouratoglou says he is satisfied with how it has gone because it has been endorsed by those who have taken part.
“We are satisfied because it was a great challenge. We started from zero during the confinement; it was just an idea,” he told UbiTennis.
“Then suddenly we decided to make this idea a reality. We’ve been broadcasting in more than 100 countries.’
“I really like the show (UTS) but it is not about me, it is about the players. So I’m happy because the players really enjoyed playing it.”
Mouratoglou has previously said the aim of his event was to attract a younger and newer fan base to the sport. Claiming that the average age of a tennis fan is 61, which is a number that some have questioned. When asked by UbiTennis about his statement, he insists that it is based on accurate information provided throughout the industry via multiple sources. Going on to add that both the ATP and WTA are aware of it.
As for the UTS, the 50-year-old said that he was partly able to achieve his goals when it comes to the target audience. Providing a glimpse into the demographics of the tournament’s audience that he has knowledge of.
“The goal was to bring new people to tennis and I can say that 50% of our audience were previously not watching tennis,” he said. “Secondly, we wanted to bring younger fans because the average age of a tennis fan is getting older. Our average age is 30-year-old.”
UTS have been held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so their audience has been in the form of subscribers to their social media accounts and streaming platform utslive.tv. The figures provided have been generated based on two methods. The first is an analysis of their social media users in terms of age as well as other things. Furthermore, it has been based on a questionnaire sent to ‘a majority’ of their subscribers.
The significance of these statistics are hard to read into. In a previous interview with UbiTennis last month, Mouratoglou stated that he aims to attract 50,000 subscribers to his platform. It is, however unclear if that has been met with the UTS deciding that they will not be disclosing their platform information to the public. No reason was given as to why this is the case.
“First of all we don’t give these figures (concerning subscribers). I’m not able to give them to you but I’m able to say something about the typology of fans that was following us. The reach on TV was around 20 million, but platform figures are not public.”
Another element to take into account was that the tournament has also been streamed on other various media channels such as Eurosport, Claro Tennis and the Tennis Channel.
What the future holds
Since the birth of the event, some have accused Mouratoglou of trying to change the sport. An allegation that he denies. Instead, he argues that he is exploring ways of attracting more people to the sport with a shorter format. Interestingly, when asked if the rules on the ATP and WTA Tour’s should be changed, he said no because tennis fans are ‘very conservative.’ However, Mouratoglou is a supporter of implementing on-court coaching and has voiced his support for the method on multiple occasions.
“I think they (ATP/WTA) are doing a great job because the tennis fans are very loyal and they have been able to keep them for a long time,” he explained.
“I don’t think they should change anything because tennis fans are very conservative and wouldn’t be happy. I’m not criticising them at all, but what I am just saying is that the average age of a tennis fan is getting older, it’s a fact. It’s not just tennis, it is sport in general.”
Now UTS-1 is coming to an end, plans are already underway for a second tournament that will also feature female players. With Mouratoglou naming Williams and Coco Gauff are two players he would like to see participate. Even more ambitious is the date for the event, which officials are hoping will be before the start of the US Open.
“We are going to do it again. It’s not completely set yet so I can’t say much,” he reveals. “The goal is to also bring women into the event. We are trying to arrange it to take place before the US Open.’
“The most important thing is that the UTS act as a compliment to the Tour’s and both can work alongside each other.”
It remains to be seen when the event will take place, but Mouratoglou says at the moment the plan is for him and Williams to attend the Western and Southern Open, which will take place in New York. If this is the case, in order for UTS-2 to occur, it needs to happen before August 20th.
The UTS has undoubtedly split opinions among fans in the world of tennis, but its founder is determined to find a way to attract more people to the sport in some capacity. It is unclear as to what will happen in the future, but Mouratoglou is hopeful that he can achieve his goals nonetheless.
“Of course, there are a lot of things to improve but for a start from zero I think it is not too bad,” he concludes.
