“99% of the audience at US Open had no idea where Coco Gauff was playing next” – Maria Sharapova on lack of marketing in tennis
Maria Sharapova recently highlighted the lack of marketing and engagement in the tennis world, arguing that almost all of the US Open audiences weren't aware of Coco Gauff's China Open campaign.
After a decorated 19-year-long career in tennis, Sharapova has pivoted to fashion, entrepreneurship, and investing. She recently attended a conference organized by Bloomberg, where she touched upon various aspects of her career and the financial future of tennis with host Jason Kelly.
On being asked about what tennis needs to do to grow as a business, Sharapova pointed out that increasing engagement is the way forward.
"I mean it’s a loaded question. There are a lot of options and roads. I mean look… let’s start with the fact you had Ted on the stage and I was listening to his talk on my way here and he spoke about engagement and the importance of engagement," she said.
The Russian lamented the lack of marketing in tennis. She claimed that the majority of spectators who watched Gauff lift the US Open trophy in mid-September had no clue about the American's China Open bid a few weeks later.
"You had Coco Gauff just winning her first Major at the US Open in New York City. I mean the crowd, the bridging culture, sport, fashion, all in that moment… two weeks later, three weeks later… how many people know that she’s playing a tournament [China Open] in Beijing," the five-time Grand Slam champion said.
"She got to the semifinals and lost but I’m sure 99 percent of the audience at the US Open had no idea where she was playing next. Right away that’s off the bat, that’s a problem," she added.
Gauff lost to eventual champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals of the China Open.
Maria Sharapova: "Now you actually know what your fans eat, where exactly they live, what they snack on at 3 p.m."
Maria Sharapova further strengthened her argument by comparing the ways in which tennis players can interact with their fans right now with the ones available when she was starting out in her career.
"You can say in 2004, after winning a Grand Slam, Facebook was the only way I could interact with a fan base… just with a photo or you know they’d see a video of myself," the 36-year-old said.
On the pros of social media platforms in today's times, she said:
"Now you actually know what your fans eat, where exactly they live, what they snack on at 3 p.m. You have this incredible connection to the fan audience. There’s so much untapped… financial potential in the sport."