United Cup chief says the retirement of Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, and Roger Federer has made promoting events more difficult
United Cup chief says it would have been easy to promote the event if Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Serena Williams were still playing.
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Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer (via Eurosport)
The retirement of Roger Federer, Serena Williams and most recently Rafael Nadal has had a big blow in tennis. These legends consistently proved that they were above the rest of the players for nearly two decades, which the younger generation of players have not yet done. This has led the United Cup director, Stephen Farrow, to confess that promoting events has become difficult.
Federer and Williams retired in 2022 having dominated the ATP and WTA. The former became the first man to win 20 Grand Slams and spent 310 weeks at the World No. 1 of the ATP rankings. Williams played her final match at the 2022 US Open, having won 23 major titles and spent 319 weeks as the WTA No. 1.
Nadal retired in November after playing his last professional match at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. The Spaniard achieved a mind-blowing clay-court record by winning the Roland Garros 14 times. During the playing days of these top players, tennis gained Worldwide attraction and fame.
But that cannot be said for the current generation. United Cup director Stephen Farrow said that from a promotional standpoint, it has become more difficult to sell tennis events.
It’s true to say that from a promotional standpoint, it’s very easy if you’ve got Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal turning up. You’re talking about people who are absolute superstars of the sports arena … with those guys moving on, it does make it a bit more difficult to promote and tell the story of the athletes playing the event.
Stephen Farrow said via Reuters
However, the only tennis legend remaining in the circuit is Novak Djokovic, but the Serbian is 37 and cannot compete in every tournament. In fact, with his current form, he is likely to retire soon.
United Cup chief believes it’s time for organizers to push new talents into the spotlight
The 2025 United Cup will see the likes of Iga Swiatek, Alexander Zverev and Coco Gauff in action for their countries. The tournament is scheduled to go from December 27 through to January 5 in Perth. It is a prelude to the ultimate Grand Slam event at the 2025 Australian Open in Melbourne.
During the aforementioned press conference, United Cup director Stephen Farrow pointed out that with the retirement of tennis greats, organizers must grab the opportunity to push new talents into the spotlight.
I always see that as a positive, because it’s on all of us in tennis to tell the story of this new talent. We’ve got a lot of them playing the United Cup. They’re incredibly exciting and captivating to watch. I’m not worried about the future.
Stephen Farrow said
On the opening day of the United Cup, Spain will take on Kazakhstan, while China will meet Brazil. Gauff will lead Team USA against Team Croatia and Canada in Group A.
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Victor Okechukwu
(640 Articles Published)