Professional tennis is in flux across the ATP and WTA Tours.
Both tours have undergone transitions in the past few years, with the ATP Tour moving on from the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
The WTA has transitioned from household names like Serena Williams to a new era dominated by Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka.
There are various current affairs in tennis that have warranted regular discussion in recent times, including the ongoing scheduling debate and questions surrounding the validity of this year’s US Open Mixed Doubles event.
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Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon Men’s Singles champion, regularly vocalises his opinion on the players, coaches and personalities concerned with tennis.
Cash, who was known for his serve-and-volley game style during his playing days, recently expressed his concern for tennis in its current form.
Pat Cash says the tennis product ‘is not as good as it was’
Cash, recognised on-court by his iconic black-and-white chequered headband, was speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live about the current state of tennis.
The Australian legend admitted tennis will ‘never’ be able to compete with some other sports, arguing that festivals, such as the one currently being held at the US Open, are a ‘great idea’ for the sport.
Cash said: “It’s [tennis] never going to be able to compete with football or NFL or basketball or Aussie Rules Football in Australia. It’s just got no chance.
“But what it can do is create, for the whole year. Because they [other sports] have a whole season, or six to nine months of constant media attention towards, you know, who’s playing well, who’s kicked a goal, who’s throwing the baskets.
“But in tennis, you can’t do that, so having these festivals, yeah I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s the best way, and obviously the WTA and the ATP are trying to make it a 12-month thing, that they [fans] can follow their favourite player and whatever.
“So it’s only a good thing for tennis, because I think if you really drill down, to what we have, to what we’re watching right now: we’re watching two players, two men, and we’re maybe watching maybe a couple or two or three women.
“And that’s about it, and it’s not necessarily healthy like it was, where we had Andy Murray and the whole… everybody. There were a bunch of players all over the place and the generation before that with the Williams sisters and everything else.
“That was big. That was big. And we don’t have that at the moment. So the product, I hate to say it, but it’s not as good as it was. But we can create brands out of that.”
The WTA Tour’s 1.1 billion audience in 2024
The WTA’s 2024 viewing figures present an opportunity to offer an opposing argument to Cash’s.
In February 2025, the WTA revealed its global audience figures from 2024. As per their report, ‘the WTA’s cumulative global audience rose by 10 per cent last year to reach a record 1.1 billion on broadcast and streaming platforms worldwide.’
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Furthermore, ESPN reported that the Wimbledon Men’s Singles final averaged 2.9 million viewers: the most since the 2019 Wimbledon Final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. ESPN’s average viewership for the women’s semi-finals was their highest since 2015, when Serena Williams was in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
The BBC also reported a record Wimbledon viewership of 69.3 million digital video views across the two-week competition.
While Cash’s comments may hold weight in terms of trying to expand the amount of marketable players across the ATP and WTA Tours, it seems the sport is in safe hands with the current crop of elite players.
Tennis may not need a wide range of marketable players, as the current exclusive list of stars seem to be attracting record-setting audiences. There can be no doubt that this audience will grow in the next few years, due to the young ages of the sport’s elite players.