Rethinking the Tennis Tournament Experience

Thousands of tennis tournaments are organized every year across the world.

They come in different colors and sizes. Different age groups, different levels, different ambitions. Yet most of them run almost exactly the same way.

A knockout format.

Often expensive.

A poor overall experience.

You drive home as a loser, unless you are the champion.

For many players, tournaments become a status game. Rankings, points, ladders. Who is first, who is last, where do I stand.

That is a fair game to play. But it is not the only game worth playing.

And it is a shortsighted one.

Who Is a Tennis Tournament Really For?

If I ask you who a tennis tournament is for, you probably answer immediately: the athletes.

I want to challenge that assumption. Even within “the athletes,” who exactly do you mean?

Under 10s?

Beginners?

First time tournament players?

Club competitors?

High performance juniors?

The WTA or ATP Tour?

Already, the picture gets blurry.

Now expand your view.

Think about everyone involved in a tennis tournament.

Organizers. Volunteers. Parents. Coaches. Officials and umpires. Sponsors.

Do you see them all? Every single one of them?

What Outcome Are You Trying to Create?

Before running a tournament, I believe every organizer should pause and ask two simple questions:

Who is this tournament for?

What outcome do I seek to create with this event?

Or, put differently:

What change do I want this tournament to make?

Bring people together?

Keep people active and healthy?

Build confidence and character?

Create opportunities to give back?

Share a passion for the game?

Compete fairly?

Promote a club?

Give visibility to volunteers and officials?

Crown a champion?

There is always a trophy. There is always a winner.

But if that is the only outcome we optimize for, we miss the point.

My assumptions here are incomplete. Probably wrong in parts. And that is fine.

The point is not to have the perfect answer. The point is to ask the questions.

Do You See Me? Do You See Them?

If tennis tournaments were rated like products on Amazon, most would struggle to reach two stars. I am being generous.

Why?

Because we keep running tournaments “the way we always have.”

The way we consume tennis has not changed much.

We play. We watch. We stake.

What has changed is culture, expectations, and technology.

Take parents, for example.

They invest enormous amounts of time, energy, and money, often for a poor experience. Many organizers quietly believe tournaments would run better without parents.

Instead of wishing them away, what if we asked a different question?

How can we serve parents better?

Or consider officials.

One of the most ungrateful roles in sport.

They get insulted, questioned, blamed.

Often working with limited resources, too many matches, and too few courts to monitor.

Imagine a tournament culture where officials are respected, supported, and valued.

Imagine investing in educating more people to help officiate.

Not perfectly. Just better.

A Customer Service Lens on Tournaments

What if we approached tennis tournaments with a customer service mindset?

Imagine being properly onboarded before signing up for a tournament.

Clear expectations.

Clear behavior standards.

Clear communication.

The technology already exists.

It is not expensive.

It is not overly time consuming.

What is missing is intention.

A different tournament culture will not appear overnight.

It will evolve step by step.

With better communication.

Clearer procedures.

More civil behavior.

Not for everyone.

We cannot serve everyone.

We should not try to.

But for those who want to be seen. For those who want a better experience. One stakeholder at a time.

Ask. Listen. Improve.

I do not have all the answers.

Your stakeholders do.

Ask them.

Rate our event from 1 to 5.

What did we do well?

What can we improve?

What needs to change?

Would you recommend this tournament to a friend?

When I started asking those questions, I was surprised by the answers.

The tournament experience is a defining moment in many tennis journeys.

And yet, most people quit after playing two or three events.

That is a pity.

Tennis is a lifelong sport.

One that keeps individuals and communities healthy and connected.

If we care about the future of the game, we must care about the experience.

If you know tournaments that truly deliver a five star experience, share them with us.

I would love to learn from them.

And even more, to share what they are doing right.

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