Tennis is undoubtedly a popular sport, but International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty has spoken in an interview with Reuters about the pressures tennis is receiving from, among other things, esports.
Esports is allegedly providing competition to the sport, especially in regards to younger people who both view and engage with it. "Young people have many different alternatives and we have to make sure that our sport remains relevant for them to play," Haggerty said.
"We have to come up with different ways to help fans, broadcasters, and players," he continued, adding that he wants "the Davis Cup and Fed Cup as the world cup of tennis, one of the top five events played. We want to incentivise and have the top players play more often."
This isn't the first time traditional sports and esports, as a recent report from Unibet showed that the champions of Dota 2's The International, Wings Gaming, each won $1.81 million USD, whereas the winner of golf's The Masters will win $1.8 million this year.
Do you think tennis (or any other sports for that matter) has to be seriously concerned about the rise of esports?