Novak Djokovic has battled his way into the fourth round of Wimbledon, having been a major doubt for the tournament.
The Serbian was among eight big name players in danger of missing the third Grand Slam of the year through injury.
Djokovic needed surgery on a torn meniscus, having withdrawn from the French Open due to the knee issue.
But he has not only recovered in time, but is surely among the favourites to go on and lift the trophy, with Andy Roddick predicting him to reach the final.
The world number two now faces Holger Rune in the last 16 at Wimbledon, having just beaten Alexei Popyrin in round three.
Why Novak Djokovic is ‘deeply concerned’ about tennis
Djokovic will be over the moon at his progress, both in terms of his injury and indeed his run at Wimbledon.
The 37-year-old former world number one has, however, aired real concerns about the future of tennis as a sport.
“In terms of innovation in our sport… other than Slams, we have to figure out how to attract a young audience,” Djokovic said in his third round press conference.
“Tennis on one hand is in a good place, but at the same time, when we look at Formula 1 for example and what they’ve done in terms of marketing, in terms of growth of the sport, in terms of the races around the world and how popular they are.. I think we need to do a better job on our respective tours.
“The Grand Slams are always going to do well. But I think our tours need to do better. We are lucky to be very historic and a very global sport. But I think one of the studies that was done by PTPA three or four years ago showed that tennis is the third or fourth most-watched sport in the world along with cricket.
“Number one is football, or soccer as you call it in the States. Second is basketball. Then it’s tennis and cricket. But tennis is number nine or 10 on the list of all sports in terms of using its popularity, commercializing or capitalizing on that. I think there’s a huge space for growth.”
He continued: “Tennis is a very global sport and it’s loved by millions of children that pick up a racquet that want to play, but we don’t make it accessible.
“We don’t make it so affordable. Especially in countries like mine that doesn’t have a strong federation, that has Grand Slam or history or big budgets.. so I think collectively we all have to come together or create a new foundation, a cornerstone of really what tennis is about.. which is the base level. The club level.”
Novak Djokovic shares how tennis is ‘endangered’
Djokovic has clearly invested his entire life to the sport of tennis, with plenty of rewards deservedly going his way.
The Serbian is a seven-time Wimbledon champion, just one behind all-time leader and Swiss icon Roger Federer.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Wimbledon 2024 from how to watch to dates
He does, however, top the pile when it comes to Grand Slam titles won, with Djokovic’s 24 two ahead of Rafael Nadal’s 22.
But the current world number two has real fears over the direction that tennis is taking, with Djokovic wanting to see a change as soon as possible.
“Now we have paddle that is growing and emerging,” Djokovic added. “People kind of have fun with it and say ‘Yeah but tennis is tennis. Tennis is the king or queen of all racket sports.’ That’s true.
“But on a club level, tennis is endangered. If we don’t do something about it, globally or collectively, paddle, pickleball in the States, they’re going to convert all the tennis clubs into paddle and pickleball. Because it’s more economical.
“You have one tennis court… you can build three paddle courts on one tennis court. Do the simple math. It’s just much more financially viable for the owner of the club to have those courts.
“These are some of the things I wanted to share. In the grand scheme of things, we need to address all these challenges and issues. Because they’ve been out there for a while. I don’t think we’ve been addressing it in the proper way.”
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
