ATP World Tour Finals

john · Top national player

RE: ATP World Tour Finals

Jan · Hall of fame

When I was younger I used to go and queue up at Wimbledon - in the days when the queue was round the streets (and there was standing room on the showcourts!!). I have also had some success in the ballot a couple of times - when you could apply for tickets for specific days. I do think it was a retrograde step when they stopped that. No way I could cope with camping out overnight - but I'd love to be able to get a ground pass online. Queens might be more expensive/elite, but it's very easy to get a ground pass and see some great tennis close up.

steven · Tennis legend

Yes, that's true - it's very strange that it's possible to get showcourt tickets in advance but not ground passes - the closest option is to go for a Court 3 ticket online, but that costs more money and may mean a Court 3 seat left empty for much of the day, so it's not ideal from anyone's perspective (us, Wimbledon or fans in the ground who'd like to get on Court 3)

Spectator · All-time great

Agree on Queens. Think their grounds pass is one of the best deals going.

imoen · Admin: Moderator+Tennis Legend

I actually think the Wimbledon ballot method is great. We are always complaining on here how elitist tennis can be but this is one way that it is accessible in my opinion. You don't have to be a card carrying member of a tennis club, you don't have to be poised online at some time when you should either be sleeping or at work and you have just as much chance as anyone else of getting final tickets. In fact a friend of mine at work got men's finals this year having never seen tennis live before on his first entry to the ballot and I think that's marvelous. Especially as he now has a long lasting memory and interest in tennis that he previously focused on football.

Two weeks of every year the country goes mad for tennis and I believe it is in part because they know that anyone can get a ballot ticket, or can go and queue and as a result some are inspired to be fans and/or players for life. I know that's how I started being a year round fan instead of a Wimbledon only, it was when a family friend took me to queue for ground tickets when i was an impressionable teen!

Having said that, I do understand the frustration of the true fan not getting tickets, but as true fans surely we should just shrug the shoulders and go to the futures down the road and enjoy the world class tennis there that only we know about?

john · Top national player

imoen wrote:
I actually think the Wimbledon ballot method is great. We are always complaining on here how elitist tennis can be but this is one way that it is accessible in my opinion. You don't have to be a card carrying member of a tennis club, you don't have to be poised online at some time when you should either be sleeping or at work and you have just as much chance as anyone else of getting final tickets. In fact a friend of mine at work got men's finals this year having never seen tennis live before on his first entry to the ballot and I think that's marvelous. Especially as he now has a long lasting memory and interest in tennis that he previously focused on football.

Two weeks of every year the country goes mad for tennis and I believe it is in part because they know that anyone can get a ballot ticket, or can go and queue and as a result some are inspired to be fans and/or players for life. I know that's how I started being a year round fan instead of a Wimbledon only, it was when a family friend took me to queue for ground tickets when i was an impressionable teen!

Having said that, I do understand the frustration of the true fan not getting tickets, but as true fans surely we should just shrug the shoulders and go to the futures down the road and enjoy the world class tennis there that only we know about?

Well said, thank you

A131 · Intermediate Club Player

john wrote:
imoen wrote:
I actually think the Wimbledon ballot method is great. We are always complaining on here how elitist tennis can be but this is one way that it is accessible in my opinion. You don't have to be a card carrying member of a tennis club, you don't have to be poised online at some time when you should either be sleeping or at work and you have just as much chance as anyone else of getting final tickets. In fact a friend of mine at work got men's finals this year having never seen tennis live before on his first entry to the ballot and I think that's marvelous. Especially as he now has a long lasting memory and interest in tennis that he previously focused on football.

Two weeks of every year the country goes mad for tennis and I believe it is in part because they know that anyone can get a ballot ticket, or can go and queue and as a result some are inspired to be fans and/or players for life. I know that's how I started being a year round fan instead of a Wimbledon only, it was when a family friend took me to queue for ground tickets when i was an impressionable teen!

Having said that, I do understand the frustration of the true fan not getting tickets, but as true fans surely we should just shrug the shoulders and go to the futures down the road and enjoy the world class tennis there that only we know about?
Well said, thank you

Totally understand the argument about Wimbledon being the catalyst for getting some people interested and playing the game though I would still argue that the a significant number of people (maybe not quite the majority) that enter the ballot completely switch off from tennis until the following year. The ballot is only fair in the sense that everyone has got an equal chance of being drawn out. In most other senses it certainly is not but appreciate it is not easy, perhaps impossible, to come up with an alternative, or an alternative that would be foolproof.

I would also give a bit of support to the fact that you need not be a member of a club to enter the draw because in my experience I don't think it necessarily follows that those who may be a member of a club, are, or spend a great deal of time following the sport or are any bigger fan that those who are not. A lot of the past and present members of my club would struggle to name the current top 10 of either gender without looking it up let alone who knocked Tara Moore out a futures event in France. They may simply prefer playing rather than following/watching which of course is their perogative but they rarely (if at all) do anything to help the general running/welfare of the club but that's another issue.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I read as a side-comment in an article that this year at the ATP World Tour Finals, they're going to have an exhibition event of top world U-14 tennis.

Did they do this before and I've just forgotten - or is this new?

JonH · All-time great

I dont know if this is the place to post this or not but I found this story interesting

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/45566104

In essence, the PGA Tour is changing how it determines the Tour Champion. Currently they take points into the final event of the Fed Ex Cup, they then add points at the Fed Ex Cup and the Tour Champion is the person with most points (forget the reset for a second).

In tennis, we do the same - top 8 points scorers qualify for Finals, they then gather more points in the Tour Finals, top points scorer at end is World #1 for the year.

But Golf is changing it - now, the Top 30 who qualify for the tour Finals have their points changed into "strokes" so the top qualifier gets a -10 stroke score, and so on and so forth they reduce that shot benefit until they have 0 strokes for the last qualifiers. So in the FInal event, the last qualifier has to outscore the field and outscore the top qualifier by at least 10 strokes to win.

I wondered how in tennis we could have a similar system - only way would be games advantage or sets - so Nadal qualifies top, maybe gets a 3 games a set advantage start, next best player gets 2 games, then 1, then maybe 3 points in first game etc etc down to no points advantage. So Nadal starts up on say Dominic Thiem as 8th placed in the Race by 3-0 in first set. Or even a set up? Or whatever...

Wouldnt really work would it?? And why on earth does golf think giving the best player an advantage at the start of the event is going to work either? Player ranked 30 of 30 may as well give up at the start. Ridiculous!

indiana · Tennis legend

Jon, please don't give the ATP ideas like that !!

The WTA might be up for it though ...

JonH · All-time great

indiana wrote:
Jon, please don't give the ATP ideas like that !!
The WTA might be up for it though ...

Or a new idea to try out at the Next Gen Finals - I can see it now in next years finals, Jack Draper, risen up the ranks got into Milan.

Commentator - "Draper has done so well, I hope he plays well at these finals. So Draper to serve the first point, 0-5, 0-40 to Zverev. Oh and set over, first set to Zverev one point played and such a shame for the fans it ended on a double fault"...etc etc

Or maybe, maybe Pique can use something for the new DC finals...now that would be interesting?!

-- Edited by JonH on Friday 21st of September 2018 05:00:44 PM

the addict · Tennis legend

Now then Jon, careful what you say, someone from the LTA might be reading, and you know what happens when they get crazy ideas.

flamingowings · All-time great

the addict wrote:
Now then Jon, careful what you say, someone from the LTA might be reading, and you know what happens when they get crazy ideas.

There is already this floating around, a winner takes all competition after the US, although not LTA related

https://twitter.com/TelegraphSport/status/1042890601782501376

JonH · All-time great

flamingowings wrote:
the addict wrote:
Now then Jon, careful what you say, someone from the LTA might be reading, and you know what happens when they get crazy ideas.
There is already this floating around, a winner takes all competition after the US, although not LTA related
https://twitter.com/TelegraphSport/status/1042890601782501376

fact following fiction. Oh cripes

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

Well unless I felt pretty sure I'd be in the last eight and with realistic tilt at the purse, I wouldn't bother to enter. I'd probably go somewhere where I'd get points and probably some remuneration for my efforts.