Despite its ability to deliver entertainment on par with singles, doubles has always been very much second best in tennis when it comes to popularity among fans.
Far more empty seats are often seen in crowds at doubles matches compared to those of singles, and the prize money on offer is much less in the team category.
It has not always been the case, with duos such as the Bryan Brothers and the Williams sisters making for compelling, must-see tennis.
The revamped mixed doubles competition at this year’s US Open also captivated fans, with Flushing Meadows taking in record attendances for the event.
However, for the most part, doubles has simply never been anywhere near as attractive to fans as singles is, which Grand Slam-winning coach Calvin Betton said is down to poor marketing.
Calvin Betton calls out the poor marketing in doubles tennis
Betton is the coach of two-time doubles major champion Henry Patten, as well as doubles world number 38 Luke Johnson.
Speaking on the ‘Chip n Charge Tennis Podcast‘, Betton said: “It annoys me that there is zero marketing for this (doubles). Zero marketing. Like, if you go on Tennis TV, try and find me a doubles post on Tennis TV, and there isn’t one.
“This year, I’ve seen them have clips of tennis players playing golf, tennis players skateboarding, and tennis players shaking hands.
“They’re obsessed with whenever Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner cross each other in a corridor, they’ll stick a camera there and go like ‘two legends meeting’, like this happens every week. There’s no reason for you to get it on camera all the time. It’s pathetic.
“But try and get them to put a doubles point on is like pulling teeth. The doubles players have specifically asked the ATP if they can run their own Instagram account. Like a doubles-only Instagram account.
“The ATP turned it down; they wouldn’t let them do it. For no reason. The doubles players said they would finance it.
“All the doubles players had an agreement among themselves, where they said the top 100 will stick in two grand each, and they would pay someone to run it, and pay for the marketing, and they wouldn’t let them do it.
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“Tennis TV owns the rights to all of the ATP events, so they won’t let them use the clips on their own Instagram.
“When the lads won in Paris, Harri put an Instagram post up and tagged me in it, and I reposted it, and three days later, I got an email saying it had been taken down for copyright infringement. It’s just wild. It is absolutely wild.
“You get idiots like Andy Roddick saying, ‘Oh, just do it yourself.’ They can’t. They would do it, and they would pay for it, and they would do it all themselves, but they can’t. The ATP will not let them do it, and they will not let them have even the clips to market themselves.”
Doubles prize money at Grand Slams compared to singles
There is a big difference between doubles and singles prize money at every event on the ATP Tour, but particularly at Grand Slams.
At the Australian Open this year, a total of A$3,500,000 was awarded to the men’s and women’s singles champions, while just A$810,000 was handed out to the doubles winners.
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Roland Garros rewarded singles champions with €2,550,000, and doubles with €590,000, while Wimbledon singles and doubles winners received £3,000,000 and £680,000, respectively.
Finally, at the US Open, singles winners earned $5,000,000, while the doubles champions got $1,000,000.
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