Recap: sportsbusiness.at Breakfast Club: “The tennis of the future” [Bilder, Quotes]

On Tuesday, October 22nd, the sportsbusiness.at Breakfast Club dedicated itself to the topic of tennis as part of the Erste Bank Open. In the 18th edition of the well-known sportsbusiness.at network format, the focus was on the future of national and international tennis.

First, the approximately 125 guests found out in a humorous exclusive talk with former tennis stars Barbara Schett and Thomas Muster how the two view their sport from a somewhat distant perspective, how tennis has developed and what challenges this poses for the future.

In the subsequent, top-class panel discussion – moderated by Ronny Leber – Schett, Sandra Reichel (Tournament Director Upper Austria Ladies Linz, Managing Director Reichel Business Group), Herwig Straka (Tournament Director Erste Bank Open, CEO & Founder e|motion group), Georg Wawer ( Managing Director win2day) and Martin Ohneberg (President ÖTV) on the following questions:

How should or will tennis develop nationally and internationally from a sporting and economic perspective, which smaller and larger screws should or must be turned and what role can Austria and the sponsorship landscape play in this?

Barbara Schett, former world-class tennis player, about…

… Dominic Thiem’s ​​end to his career: “It’s always sad when a career comes to an end, be it Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. Of course, with Dominic Thiem it hurts even more because he is an Austrian and because of course we have been rooting for him for the last 15 years. His career is incredible, with his 17 ATP titles and the US Open triumph – and that in the era of Big Three. We hoped he would make a comeback.”

… what has changed in tennis: “The tournaments have of course grown. The prize money has increased fivefold. The players are extremely fit, move better and the material is also better. If you look at the forehand of Aryna Sabalenka, who was faster than all men at the US Open, it’s crazy. I am pleased that there is equal prize money for women and men at the Grand Slams. But the gap is still big between ATP and WTA.”

… Austrian tennis: “I am a member of the association and went to the southern part of the city when I was 14 because the training opportunities were completely different and there were many other girls there. Today fame and money are important, we started out of passion. Things haven’t been looking so rosy for Austrian women for a few years now. We hope someone makes it into the top 100 again. But it’s tough and not a walk in the park, you have to dedicate yourself to the sport.”

… the importance of sport: “We have been talking for a long time about the fact that sport should be integrated more into school. In our case, if the parents don’t actively lead the child to exercise, they sit in front of their cell phones for hours and watch TikTok videos. It’s a different time, so it’s difficult. The association can do whatever it wants. The enthusiasm for sports in other countries is completely different. I live in Australia and there is an incredible offer every day. Here (in Austria, note) you will be looked at askance if you say you are a tennis coach. People are surprised that this is even a job.”

…joint tournaments for men and women: “Herwig and Sandra, sit down together. In the near future I would like the tournaments in Vienna and Linz to be a combined event. We’ve been talking about this for years. I would have wished that when I was active, but there was still a lot of rejection from men.”

… the development of tennis in general: “Tradition is very, very important, but I think it’s okay that a little bit of things are changed. The prime example is the Australian Open, it’s unbelievable what they can achieve. There is a huge concert every day, you can go there even if you don’t enjoy watching tennis.”

… about the “Big Three”: “I don’t think there will be an era like that anymore. It’s unbelievable how many titles the three of them have won and how they pushed each other. They also needed each other and were three different players in terms of playing style and personality.”

Thomas Muster, former world number one, about…

… Dominic Thiem: “It won’t be that new or emotional for him. He was done with it a long time ago. He wasn’t able to celebrate the greatest success of his career with the people in the stadium. I always thought he would win in Paris, then it was the US Open. Of course he did a great job. I would have hoped that he would play longer. That’s a shame because I think something else would have been possible. If you can take a few million with you in five or six years, then I ask myself – also from a business perspective – when I will be able to earn that much again. Maybe later he’ll realize it wasn’t so good.”

… the differences to tennis in the past: “A lot has happened, but tennis has become very clinical, there is little emotion shown, everything is politically correct. You shouldn’t misbehave, but a little something goes a long way. The tour has done well overall, the royalties are huge. Every year more prize money has to be raised. It’s not that easy for the tournaments.”

… the importance of (tennis) sport in Austria: “If we had had to build the mountains for skiing, there would be three sand hills in Austria. We always want to be a sports country, but we don’t want to do anything about it. The construction of stadiums in Austria is catastrophic, the Ministry of Sports is an appendage of the ministries, once there, once there. We make demands, but do not meet the framework conditions. We always talk but nothing happens.”

Georg Wawer (Managing Director win2day) about…

… OneVision: “We feel really comfortable with ÖTV in this regard. As a sponsor, we only participate in sports where men and women, as well as those with and without disabilities, have equal opportunities. We want to support right away and have discussed this with Herwig Straka: There is now wheelchair tennis on the Center Court, then they play in front of 4,000 spectators like last Sunday. I still get goosebumps when I think about it today.”

… the development in sponsorship: “We only want to enter into long-term deals because you don’t get into the top 10 in one or two years, you need more like ten. But you also need highlight events and role models. We also analyzed the print and TV times for men and women to see how long they can be seen in relation to each other. The “Women’s TV” channel will no longer broadcast on February 20, 2025. Disabled athletes have this day on January 3rd. Without the Paralympic Games it would be January 2nd. The men, on the other hand, can be seen all year round.”

Sandra Reichel (Tournament Director Upper Austria Ladies Linz, Managing Director Reichel Business Group) about…

… Equality: “The fact that we have the same prize money at the Grand Slams and Masters is great. The differences between ATP and WTA are still very large. Women’s tennis is the number one women’s sport in the world. I believe that the future lies in combined events, i.e. men’s and women’s tournaments at the same time and at the same location. The Austrian mentality of constant complaining bothers me. We should think much more positively. We need figureheads for the next generation.”

… the future: “We have to ensure that people and sport remain in the foreground. Linz still lacks the budget for some things. Entertainment is important, but sport must come first.”

Herwig Straka (Tournament Director Erste Bank Open, CEO & Founder e|motion group) about…

… OneVision to market women and men together: “As a sport, we miss out on so many opportunities because we don’t pull together. There are ATP, WTA, ITF and four Grand Slam tournaments. Everyone markets themselves and that’s how you lose customers.”

… a combined event: “At the moment it is not an issue in Austria for infrastructural reasons, but I also see the future in it. The events also grow through this cross-fertilization.”

… the future: “Our biggest competitor is the flat screen at home. Live has to be made sexy, we’ve been trying to do that for years, we do a lot of entertainment. But you also have to fight every year. In Australia they also cover China. There is a lot of competition, you had to reinvent yourself. We have to go there.”

Martin Ohneberg (President ÖTV) about…

… the association: “We really have a focus on equality. Not because it’s fashionable, but because we really believe in it.”

… the Italian association as a role model: “The mentality and passion in general simply have to get better in Austria. Sport has to play a role, in Italy there is a different emotion. But it’s also about the tournament offering, the budget and the quality of the training. Of course, Italy has more inhabitants, but six to eight million euros flow into the infrastructure there every year. Nothing flows into us.”