Novak Djokovic Urges Shorter Matches To Attract Younger Tennis Fans: 'We Have To...'

Published 30 June 2026 · sports

Novak Djokovic Urges Shorter Matches To Attract Younger Tennis Fans: 'We Have To...' Published By, Last Updated: June 30, 2026, 12:05 IST Novak Djokovic requests

Novak Djokovic Urges Shorter Matches To Attract Younger Tennis Fans: 'We Have To...' Published By, Last Updated: June 30, 2026, 12:05 IST Novak Djokovic requests tennis to change match formats to attract younger fans, as he chases a historic 25th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. Rapid Read Novak Djokovic celebrates winning the men's singles match against Yibing Wu (Picture credit: AP) 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has said that the PTPA researched many years ago to find that to attract younger fans to tennis, they have to be made interested in watching Grand Slams, adding that the format of the sport has to be changed to ensure that the younger generation takes interest in the sport. As per Djokovic, most tennis matches are too long for modern audiences, who no longer have the patience to sit through lengthy contests.

But he made it clear that he isn’t in favour of changing the format of the four Grand Slam tournaments. After winning his first-round match at Wimbledon on Monday, Djokovic used his post-match press conference to revisit his work with the PTPA and discuss what he believes is the declining appeal of tennis tournaments. “How do we get a younger audience to like tennis? PTPA did this years ago; we did this research and study. The age of the average tennis fan around the world was 61," Djokovic said. “It is a short attention span. We have to see what the market is about. How do we get to them? In my opinion, we have to change the format, the tours, have the tournaments have shorter matches, more dynamic, be able to have something more interesting and shorter length ’cause this is too long," Djokovic added.

Meanwhile, in Carlos Alcaraz’s absence, Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, is expected to be one of Jannik Sinner’s main rivals. Djokovic is chasing a record-extending 25th Grand Slam singles title across men’s and women’s tennis. If he lifts the Wimbledon trophy on July 12, he will also become the oldest man to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era. Reaching those historic milestones will require a marked improvement from Djokovic, who was made to work hard for more than three hours in a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 first-round victory over world No. 102 Wu, watched by David Beckham and rapper Bad Bunny from the stands. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit First Published: June 30, 2026, 12:05 IST News sports tennis Novak Djokovic Urges Shorter Matches To Attract Younger Tennis Fans: 'We Have To...' Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s.