‘More fans than ever are tuning into WTA’: Micky Lawler talks record audience figures, technological advances and ranking systems

Improving technology to improve the story

The role of data continues to grow in importance across the entire tennis community – the moment you stand still, on or off the court, is the moment you fall behind.

The WTA’s partnership with SAP is a testament to that mantra, striving to provide new and updated transformative technology to bring fans closer to the sport than ever before.

Following the success of the performance-based SAP Tennis Analytics for coaches, SAP Tennis Analytics for media was announced in October at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global to support the coverage of the WTA and enhance the storytelling process behind women’s tennis.

The software helps augment the narrative before, during and after matches and serves as a comprehensive database housing key and informative WTA stats gathered over the course of 20 years.

SAP Tennis Analytics for media provides data and insights to media in real time and across devices during WTA tournaments. Media are more informed, concise and insightful, and can deliver a better experience for the viewer and reader.

Tennis journalists play an integral role in storytelling throughout the season, and the opportunity to have access to SAP’s blueprint of real-time insights can take the art of tennis journalism to new heights.

Record-breaking audience figures

More fans than ever are tuning into WTA, as WTA matches were watched by over 500 million fans on television and digital channels around the world across 2017.

Premier events experienced a 12% audience increase from 2016, with Spain, China and Romania being the top 3 markets.

In the digital sphere, total video views for all web and digital platforms peaked at 249 million. While the singles game takes centre stage, live streaming doubles matches on Facebook in October generated over 11 million views.

There is an appetite for women’s tennis at all levels of the game, from all-time great Serena Williams to the new crop of up and coming players. The 23-time Grand Slam winner has been and will continue to be force on the WTA tour, while the next generation of rising stars are emerging and will challenge for supremacy in 2018.

Sloane Stephens winning the US Open after a year out with injury, 20-year-old Jelena Ostapenko lifting the title at Roland Garros, former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki’s return as a dominant force on tour – these amazing stories are being consumed by sports fans all over the world through our platforms.

Additionally, the WTA Finals have been awarded to Shenzhen, China from 2019 – 2028 and will feature a state-of-the-art venue in the city’s downtown area, with seating for 12,000 people, and record prize money of $14 million for the Top 8 singles players and Top 8 doubles teams, double the previous purse.

No.1 still means No.1

Over the course of 2017, five different players held the WTA World No.1 ranking. The ongoing and ever-increasing competition has elevated the game with the elite ranking all of a sudden becoming a realistic achievement. The reward for ascending to the highest ranking becomes all the sweeter when you know how many people you’ve had to hold off, or how many players you’ve overtaken in the process.

The current rankings system rewards consistency across the year – becoming the World No.1 player is about maintaining a top level of performance, simply not over-achieving at three of four tournaments in a season.

The excitement of having the top ranking spot on the line week-in, week-out has led to some of the most thrilling matches of the season – Simona Halep versus Johanna Konta at Wimbledon for example, a pulsating three set epic which became the BBC’s most watched women’s match at Wimbledon of all time.

Every tournament is now critical in the battle for supremacy – the need to defend or add ranking points has seen the world’s top players enter tournaments outside of their normal schedules, giving fans all over the globe the chance to see their tennis idols perform in the flesh.

The first few weeks of 2018 will see several players with the opportunity to take the WTA World No.1. We should welcome and celebrate this unique time in women’s tennis, and look forward to stories, rivalries and encounters we will see unfold across the year.

Do you want to stay ahead of the Broadcasting curve? Sign up to our first Masterclass of 2018 now!

WTA President Micky Lawler talks technology, competition and a game for all

NEW TECHNOLOGY

Tennis has been a real leader in sports in regards to adopting new technology and further progress is important. Data is the new gold. Data makes intangibles tangible.

Nevertheless, data alone is not enough. In making a decision, we cannot ignore our instinct. Technology is an enabler; our partnership with SAP is a testament to that.

Our coaching technology was developed to assist coaches and built around the needs of the player-coach relationship and goals. But it does not replace anyone.

SAP provides greater access to unique match and player insights for media to deliver a more informed commentary through our match notes available at WTA events around the world, while also ensuring fans can better understand the on-court action through real-time insights

We’ve helped players and coaches gain better insights to analyse and improve their performance through SAP Tennis Analytics for Coaches and SAP Tournament Performance Center.

SAP Tennis Analytics for Coaches provides WTA players and coaches access to real-time performance data during live match play for the first time ever in professional tennis.

In the years ahead, we look forward to continuing to work the SAP to grow the sport of tennis around the world and provide transformative technology that brings fans closer to the sport.

Technology is progress; an enabler for the betterment of the sport. However, it should never be about technology for the sake of technology.

Progress in technology, applied properly, enhances understanding of the sport and our understanding of its audience. But any technological development can only be considered if it upholds the integrity of our game.

INCREASING COMPETITION

Women’s tennis is so competitive right now with an increasingly even playing field among the top players.

When you have established rivalries, you attract fans that are more casual. Regularity becomes familiarity and talkability. The real tennis fans appreciate the depth of field and understand how hard it is to win consistently amid such fierce competition.

Look at Jeļena Ostapenko – only 20 years old and with huge energy – but it is going to be hard for her to sustain. She did well at Wimbledon but the next young player will soon be nipping at her heels.

A true legendary champion has to perform at a level better than everyone else for a very long period of time, which is extremely hard to do.

These are talented individuals who face an enormous challenge, often alone. A true champion often has a pattern – they secure a big win early in their career and this victory transports them into another universe and that can be daunting.

The real champions are the ones who take the lessons from that and rise. It is true for women and for men. Life changes for them all once they win Wimbledon.

TENNIS FOR ALL

The WTA was founded in 1973 as a professional women’s tennis tour by the ‘Original 9’ led by Billie Jean King and stands for the value that any woman, no matter where she is from if she has talent she can earn a living as a professional tennis player.

The WTA has never considered women’s tennis an elitist sport. You have to remember where we have come from and the challenges we faced to get here.

Our grassroots WTA Future Stars program in Asia is providing a place to compete for young stars of up to 18 nations. The programme has enjoyed huge success and gives some young burgeoning stars their taste of what the big stage could feel like.

We hope they will continue to play and see them star on the WTA tour in future years.

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