Sport For Thought: Wimbledon, The World's Most Recognizable Brand

With all of the sporting events that occur throughout the world, is any brand more recognizable than Wimbledon? When flipping through the channels, you may see football, baseball, basketball, soccer, golf or any other sport being played. But can a viewer know exactly what the event is just from watching what is being televised? How is a World Series or Super Bowl game more recognizable to the television viewer then just any regular season game? The answer is, their is no difference! But when one turns on the television to view a tennis match, what is more recognizable then the perfectly landscaped grass courts, all white, and the properness that is Wimbledon?

U.S. Open Notebook: Winner's, Sleeper's, and Toughest Road

The 2013 US Open officially kicks off today in Flushing Meadows, New York. At the Billie Jean King Tennis Center over the next two weeks, the best tennis players in the world will compete for the final grand slam championship. On the women’s side, Serena Williams looks to defend her 2012 US Open Championship as Andy Murray will be looking to do the same on the men’s side. This will be the first time Murray will ever have the role of defending his crown. With all the top seeds healthy on the men’s side, and the fierce new rivalry between Serena and Victoria Azarenka, the next two weeks should be full of surprises and wonderful play.

U.S. Open Notebook: A New Queen on The Rise?

In my last post, I discussed the state of male tennis in the United States, focusing on the lack of prospects and national coverage. Now in general, male sports are more famous and receive more coverage than female sports, however, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has made multiple strides in gaining popularity not only in the U.S. but throughout the whole world. Tennis is really the only sport where male and female competitions are televised together, receive equal prize money, and analyzed with equitable media coverage. A great deal of this is due to big names like Serena Williams (She also has a clothing line.) and Maria Sharapova (She also models). Needless to say, the WTA has found a way to gain more media attention, and it is through using individual players for not only their skills on the court, but their appearance as well.

U.S. Open Notebook: Is There a Male U.S. Tennis Star in the Making?

If you were to stop someone on the street and ask the question, ”Who is the best American tennis player?” what would be the most common response? Many people would say Andy Roddick (He retired last year). Others would say Andre Agassi (Has been retired for over 5 years). And even others would say that Roger Federer guy (He is from Switzerland). The point is, with start of the decline of the Williams sisters (Venus and Serena) and last year’s surprise retirement from Roddick, the US does not have a face of tennis and the U.S. Open is right around the corner.

Wimbledon 2012 Review

This past weekend’s schedule of Wimbledon finals was anything but short on storylines.  On the women’s side, you had Serena Williams who is always a big storyline on her own.  Even with taking breaks from the game of tennis, she still continues to dominate women’s tennis and to prove that rankings may not really matter too much.  Her opponent, Agnieszka Radwanska, would have taken over the number one ranking had she won her first ever Grand Slam title.  Serena Williams took home the title (Serena and Venus also won the women's doubles championship).

 

The buzz of Wimbledon happened to be on the men’s side this year.  The men’s final featured Roger Federer and Andy Murray.  Federer was going for Grand Slam title number 17 and record Wimbledon number 7.  Murray had much more pressure on his shoulders.  He was trying to become the first Brit to win Wimbledon in over 7 decades.  With historic implications on both sides, the finals were sure to be a huge draw.  To the dismay of all of Great Britain, Federer was able to edge out Murray in 4 sets.

 

Ticket sales for the men’s Wimbledon final were through the roof.  There were reports that tickets were reaching prices of over $20,000. Yes, $20,000.  That is how badly the entire country wanted to see a win for Andy Murray. 

An interesting point with Wimbledon is that the men’s and women’s prize money is equal throughout.  Prize money disparities have been a big point of contention in recent years in tennis.  At Wimbledon, prize money ranges from $14,500 for the first round losers all the way up to $1,150,000 for the winners.  All prize money levels saw an increase that was ahead of inflation from the 2011 tournament which would show that there has been growth in the tournament’s revenue. 

Just as I wrote last week, it’s time to take notice.  Especially in men’s tennis, we are in a golden age.  The top 3 or 4 players may be the best top 3 or 4 that we have seen in the game’s history.  There will be tennis in the upcoming London 2012 Olympics and the next Grand Slam is the US Open at the end of the summer.  Do yourself a favor and give tennis a chance.