Fiend at Court Unplugged
This weekend the Fiend at Court is proposing ideas for Reality TV shows that would be entertaining while promoting the sport of tennis. Today’s pitch is for a reality show that features a head to head competition between Venus and Serena Williams. Each sister would have a team of players who have never played tennis before. The challenge for the two sisters is to teach each player to play the game of tennis. Each week would feature wacky tennis skill related challenges that would culminate in something resembling a “World Team Tennis” showdown.
While other former and current tennis stars could certainly be leveraged as the team captains, the Williams Sisters are ideal because they generate solid television ratings on name recognition alone. It would be good for tennis because viewers who don’t play tennis themselves might be inspired to pick up a racquet and give the sport a try.
It is a paradox in tennis television programming that there really isn’t much content geared to the beginning players. While a tennis newbie could certainly be inspired by watching professional tennis, that provides limited instruction and insight into how to learn to play the game. The Tennis Channel does run some instructional content, but it is generally geared at more experienced players.
There isn’t much content on broadcast TV that instructs or inspires viewers who haven’t taken the step to actually try to play. Active and continuous promotion of the sport of tennis by the industry is needed to ensure that the pipeline of tennis players and fans is continuously refilled. Encouraging people to play is a necessary part of the equation.
Would the Williams sisters do it? Maybe. Venus is not exactly a stranger to Reality TV. She headlined “Game On” on CBS alongside Rob Gronkowski, so we know that she is open to participation in the genre. Maybe she could talk Serena into doing it.
It is all a pipe dream, of course. However if an industry power decided to pull out all the stops to engage with prospective tennis consumers, Reality TV programming could be an interesting way to broaden the reach of the sport. It’s worth a try.
