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Survey: Tennis aces cricket as Australia's most popular sport

social

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Heaps of people watch tennis here because, I suspect, the Aussie Open coincides with summer hols for everyone, and it's on tv non-stop for that fortnight.
Hence, if asked whether you've watched the sport over the previous 12 months, it's very likely you will have.
Yup

Reality is that tennis is nowhere near as popular as it was 35 years ago. People used to be glued to the tv watching Laver, Rosewall, Newcombe, etc play Davis Cup

Now, it's like lift music for many people - on in the background but not of any great interest
 

duffer

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
:laugh: @ that article. Maybe next they can explain why participation rates in junior tennis is on a continual decline here. What a load of tosh, and this coming from a guy who watches just about any Grand Slam event and Masters series that's on.
 

Goughy

Hall of Fame Member
Which sport in Aus gets the most paying punters through the door to watch pro games?

Ie invest their own cash rather than investing 2 mins answering a survey
 

duffer

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Which sport in Aus gets the most paying punters through the door to watch pro games?

Ie invest their own cash rather than investing 2 mins answering a survey
I'm assuming it's the AFL, comfortably.
 

pasag

RTDAS
I'm assuming it's the AFL, comfortably.
Indeed, according to wikipedia: the AFL has the second highest average attendance in the world (36,792), though I'm not sure how reliable that is as there's no reference.
 

Goughy

Hall of Fame Member
I'm assuming it's the AFL, comfortably.
Appears correct.

For 2007

Finals included

AFL
Games - 185
Total attendance - 7,050,945
Average attendance - 38,113

NRL
Games - 201
Total attendance - 3,332,638
Average attendance - 16,580
 

Goughy

Hall of Fame Member
From Aus Bureau of Stats website. Interesting reading.



Has cricket as the 5th most watched sport.

Interestingly (or maybe obviously), of the sports not involving animals or vehicles, Tennis had the highest proportion that attended only once or twice a year.
 
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_Ed_

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Beautiful, go horse racing. I guess that's boosted by the Melbourne Cup though...
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
If that survey is correct then I dont think Ill ever move to Aus for fear of my kids becoming tennis playing swimmers. *shudders*

:)
Hate for them to earn lots of money and be able to travel around the world huh? :p
 

Matt79

Global Moderator
Reckon last summer's season down here probably has dented the popularity of the game. The ugliness and shenanigans hurt the standing of the game and would have turned some people off. The perception, accurate or not, that Harbhajan "got away" with unacceptable behaviour because the Indian board "own the game" has probably soured some people on it as well. The other factor is that there's a certain level of bogan blokiness and over-competitiveness associated with the current team and that probably puts people, particularly women, off the game.

It think what the survey doesn't show there is any kind of weighting for the level of interest taken by people - if that was factored in then domestic footy (as in AFL or League) would beat tennis and cricket hands down, but instead reflects what number of people took an interest. The Australian Open (tennis) is pretty well placed in an otherwise empty part of the sporting calender and most people take some interest, but outside of that, and Wimbledon, and to a hugely lesser extent the other two grand slams the number of people who actively follow tennis or watch any would be pretty low IMO. Taking that kind of factor into account, cricket would IMO be more popular than tennis still.

In terms of numbers of people playing socially, it would not surprise me if tennis was as popular if not more popular than cricket - but in that metric, netball smashes most of the other sports.
 

Matt79

Global Moderator
Which sport in Aus gets the most paying punters through the door to watch pro games?

Ie invest their own cash rather than investing 2 mins answering a survey
AFL easily. Average attendance for matches through the season would be 30,000+, they get well over a million fans through the gates over the course of the season, and the latest TV rights package were for 780million dollars - for a sport played only in a country of 21 million people, and even then, is not the main football code in two of the three most populous states.
 

Sanz

Hall of Fame Member
Hmm, I love tennis, but I reckon if you asked most Australians who won the Wimbledon women's singles last year, many wouldn't have a clue.
They probably would If an Aussie had won it. Besides it is so easy to tell the results of a cricket series where Australia participates.

Even If you do not know the outcome and pick Australia as the , you would be right in 75-80% cases.
 

Matt79

Global Moderator
Hmm, I love tennis, but I reckon if you asked most Australians who won the Wimbledon women's singles last year, many wouldn't have a clue.
yeah, but that's women's sports and aside the perv factor therefore pointless. :)
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
yeah, but that's women's sports and aside the perv factor therefore pointless. :)
If that's the case, how can half a sport be pointless, yet be the #1 sport of a nation?

That was the point I was getting at.
 

Matt79

Global Moderator
I agree with you. I'm saying its not the number one sport in the nation. This survey is spurious. SPURIOUS I tells ya! :)
 

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