On The first day of this year’s US Open, Alexandra Eala came back from 5-1 in the third set to make Clara Tauson Van Streek for a delicious audience, novak djokovic rope-a-dedicated a frisser opponent barely half his age, rebeka masarova hit the lines, and and and and and and and and and and and and and in the lines Daniil MedVeve, and Daniil Medvedev, and Daniil Medvedev. Everything but a riot In the stands of Louis Armstrong Stadium while he was at the match point.
In the midst of the over -stimulating slate of competitions, the US Open quietly published the first episode of the dating -video series -game, set, matchmaker on their official YouTube channel. In it host Ilana Sedaka, an art skater and influencer, had a blind date with Ronnie, a Lacrosse coach. They exchanged clear smiles and music tastes. They tied their love for Drake – what were the opportunities? Although the date took place on US Open Grounds with players who practice in the background, very little about the tennis conversation. It is Ronnie’s first time at the US Open: “This place is insane,” he said. Take it to a poster.
“Are you a tennis fan?” Sedaka asked halfway. “I just got a bit in it last year,” said Ronnie. At the end of the video, Sedaka Ronnie offered a ticket to the US Open so that he could participate in a second date with her. Ironically, probably meant to generate interest in tennis, it cut it off as they walked onto the site. The next episode, a charming uncomfortable date between influencer Emma and fitness trainer Natalie, contained no tennis noise, but 30 seconds or so on the NFL.
The videos praised why the US Open had provided the platform exactly. Per The New York Times”The reasoning of a spokesperson for a tennis club of the United States for the series was that it was” trying to attract a completely new audience, reaches fans at the intersection of tennis, pop culture and entertainment “. The problem is that tennis seems absent in the first two episodes of game, set, matchmaker, apart from the background. The videos sputtered for modest displays, surpassed by almost all match height points next to the on the same channel. It seemed that those who came to open the US canal did this to look open for part of the US.
It is difficult to imagine that someone becomes a tennis fan because of these episodes under all circumstances, but the rollout of the game, set, matchmaker could not have helped. The release schedule of the episodes was not immediately available, and only a few days before the pilot fell, the size of a series of bachelor style series changed in which Sedaka would go on dates with different men, to eight different pairs on their first dates. (Maybe Ronnie turned out to be an unexpected keeper?) But many fans had less bone to choose with the size than the idea itself – why was this again relevant to a tennis tournament? Open the US establish a new presence record in 2024More than a million fans welcome through his gates. Tennis participation in the US is peaked. The total prize pool at the US Open has risen 20% compared to 2024, then itself a record high. Game, set, matchmaker implies a lack of trust in a product that is doing very well through all performances.
Game, set, matchmaker is not the first attempt to find new tennis fans by shunning the tennis of all this. Break Point, the short-term tennis Netflix series, was paralyzing dependent on the access of players and allergic to showing tennis images from a recognizable angle. An episode in which Carlos Alcaraz Djokovic defeated Wimbledon-final bizarre enough Holger Rune in a pulsating Five set as his protagonist. The show depicted the stream of a match as a trio of momentum fluctuations: one player seized the initiative, mentally collided and then recovered to grasp the victory. Forehand and backhands were neglected; Tactics might as well not exist. The show seemed to be more focused on convincing viewers to follow different players on social media than to see them play tennis.
As if they anticipated their own intense disappointment with breaking point, hardcore fans repeated that they were not the target group, such as a mantra, in the run-up to the release. This was true; The goal was to create new fans, no comfort existing. But too often this goal is used as an excuse for disappointing existing fans, or presenting a distorted image of reality. In April Netflix brought an Alcaraz-oriented documentary from the name My Way, who presented his tumultuous 2024 season. Alcaraz won Wimbledon that year when Djokovic yielded a backhand return on a second Serve. Instead, my way gave the match point as a cinematic, hard rally that ended with Alcaraz who destroyed a Forehand winner. If Netflix thought it had to beautify the game until the point of misleading the viewer, you wonder why they did the documentary in the first place. Other sports have also brought in the Netflix treatment in attempts to pursue the enormously successful drive to survive. Nobody has matched that success; Just like Breekpunt, bicycles and rugby documents were canceled.
The Mixed Doubles tournament that also preceded this US open was aimed at conquering viewers by means apart from the tennis they played. The open cannibalized the format with singles stars and forced almost all double specialists who had adapted their skills to the format – and who, unlike players of the top singles, trust these tournaments to earn a living. But even that wasn’t enough. Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz worked together for the tournament; Because they are young, attractive stars, they were inevitable food for fan fiction and shipment. Most simply expect that such fantasy comes from fans, instead of official tournament accounts. The US Open leaned for the partnership, hard and happy for them, Alcaraz and Raducanu played ball instead of running for the hills. The tactic has successfully sacrificed dignity for great attention. On one point, against Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula, Raducanu defended a series of attacks to be only passed on by a Draperbackhand. Thinking that the point was over, Raducanu hung her head and Alcaraz raced in her peripheral vision to save the rally with a forehand winner around the net. They laughed delighted, white teeth flashed. I forwarded such telegenic clips from Alcaraz and Raducanu to my tenniscurrous partner, who did not look at the tournament, but later offered “I send Emmaraz”. I even caught the loss of the couple of the couple.
These style-over-substance tactics are often a slap in the face, either for the mixed doubles who had spent their lives with training for and excel in the format, or to the hardcore fan. They are also more about fame and fandom than the sport itself. The film final days had many virtues and reached the rare coup of thrust tennis in the mainstream discourse, and did not shy away from the sport itself. The film returned to the crucial confrontation between two protagonists during the course of the term and ensured to emphasize important moments. We saw the competition take shape. We saw the contrasting styles of the players. We saw sweat dripping out of their bodies. We saw tennis as it was: a long -term, unpredictable melting pot of stress strewn with moments of sparkle. The film ended with players and spectators who celebrated a particularly spectacular point.
Non -fiction tennis is frustrating resistant to doing the same, despite a dream cast of stars.
After years of catastrophes about a world after Serena Williams and the Big Three, a handful of supernaturally talented successors fell into the womb of the sport. Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been played lately in the final of every major tournament and have made comparisons with great rivalry of yesteryear. Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have each enjoyed the spells of dominance on the WTA, but have no shortage of talented competitors. When tennis is at its best, people tend to enjoy it. The US Open and other tournaments would do well to emphasize such authorities and do their best to get them for as many eyes as possible. If someone is not interested in it, tennis is probably not for them, and that’s ok.
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