Summary: sports business.at Breakfast Club: “Tennis of the future” [Bilder, Quotes]

On Tuesday, October 22, the sportsbusiness.at Breakfast Club involved itself in the theme of tennis as part of the Erste Bank Open. In the 18th edition of the famous sportsbusiness.at network format, the focus was on the future of national and international tennis.

First, around 125 guests found out in a funny talk with former tennis stars Barbara Schett and Thomas Muster how the two look at their sport from a rather distant point of view, how tennis has come forward and what are the challenges of this for the future.

In the subsequent high-level panel discussion – moderated by Ronny Leber – Schett, Sandra Reichel (Director of the Upper Austria Women’s Competition Linz, Managing Director of Reichel Business Group), Herwig Straka (Director of the Erste Competition Bank Open, CEO & Founder of e|. ), Georg Wawer (Managing Director of win2day) and Martin Ohneberg (President of ÖTV) on the following questions:

How should or how tennis will develop nationally and internationally from a sporting and economic point of view, what smaller and bigger screws should or need to be turned and what part Could Austria and the sponsor landscape in this?

Barbara Schett, a former world-class tennis player, is about…

… The end of his career Dominic Thiem: “It’s always sad when a career ends, be it Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. Of course, with Dominic Thiem it hurts even more because he’s an Austrian and of course we’ve been rooting for him for the last 15 years. His career is remarkable, with his 17 ATP titles and US Open victory – and that in time Big Three. We hoped he would come back. “

… what has changed in tennis: “Of course the tournaments have grown. The prize money has increased fivefold. The players are very fit, move better and the material is better too. If you look at Aryna Sabalenka’s forehand, which was faster than everyone at the US Open, it’s crazy. I’m glad that women and men have the same prize money at the Grand Slams. But the gap between ATP and WTA is still big.”

Tennis from Austria: “I am a member of the association and I went to the south of the city when I was 14 because the training opportunities were completely different and there were many other girls. Today fame and money are important, we started out of passion. Things have not been looking so rosy for Austrian women for a few years now. Let’s hope someone enters the top 100 again. But it’s difficult and it’s not a walk in the park, you have to dedicate yourself to the sport.”

… the importance of sports: “We have been talking for a long time about the fact that sports should be more integrated in the school. In our case, if the parents do not actively lead the child to exercise, they sit in front of their cell phones for hours and watch TikTok videos. It’s a different time, so it’s difficult. Society can do whatever it wants. The passion for sports in other countries is completely different. I live in Australia and there is an amazing offer every day. Here (in Austria, mind you) you will be looked at if you say you are a tennis coach. People are surprised this is even a job.”

…competitions for men and women: “Herwig and Sandra, sit down together. Soon I would like the competitions in Vienna and Linz to be a joint event. We have been talking about this for years. I wanted that when I was active, but there was still a lot of rejection from people.”

the development of tennis in general: “Tradition is very, very important, but I think it’s okay to change a few things. The prime example is the Australian Open, it’s unbelievable what they can achieve. There’s a big concert every day, you can go there even if you don’t like watching tennis.”

about the “Big Three”: “I don’t think there will be a time like that again. It is unbelievable how many titles the three of them won and how they pushed each other. They also needed each other and were three different players in terms of playing style and personality.”

Former world number one Thomas Muster about…

Dominic Thiem: “The farewell will not be so fresh and emotional for him. He was done with it a long time ago. He could not celebrate the biggest success of his career with the people in the stadium. I always thought he would win in Paris, and then it was the US Open. He actually did a great job. I would hope that he would play longer. That’s a shame because I think something else would have been possible. If you can take a few million in five or six years, I ask myself – also from a business point of view – when I will be able to earn that again. Maybe he’ll realize later that it wasn’t a good idea to stop so early. “

… the differences in tennis in the past: “A lot has happened, but tennis has become very clinical, there is not much emotion to be seen, everything is politically correct . You should not misbehave, but something small goes a long way. The tour is generally well done, the duties are great. Each year more prize money must be raised. It’s not that easy for the championships.”

… the importance of sport (tennis) in Austria: “If we had to build the mountains for skiing, there would be three sand hills in Austria. We always want to be a sports nation, but we don’t want to do anything about it. The construction of stadiums in Austria is terrible, the Ministry of Sports is an appendix of the ministries, once there, once there. We make requests, but we do not meet the conditions of the framework. We always talk but nothing happens. “

Georg Wawer (Win2day Managing Director) about…

… OneVision: “We feel very comfortable with ÖTV in this regard. As a sponsor, we only participate in sports where men and women have equal opportunities, as well as those with and without disabilities. We want to support immediately and we have discussed this with Herwig Straka: Wheelchair tennis is now on the Center Court, and then they play in front of 4,000 spectators like last Sunday . I still get goosebumps when I think about it today.”

the improvement in sponsorship: “We only want to do long-term contracts because you don’t get into the top 10 in a year or two, you need more like ten. But you also need special events and role models. We also analyzed the print and TV times for men and women to see how often they are seen in relation to each other. The channel “Women’s TV” will no longer broadcast on February 20, 2025. This day for disabled athletes will be on January 3. Without the Paralympic Games it would be January 2nd. The men, on the other hand, can be seen throughout the year.”

Sandra Reichel (Director of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz Competition, Managing Director of Reichel Business Group) about…

… Equality: “It’s great that we have the same prize money at the Grand Slams and Masters. The differences between ATP and WTA are still very big. Women’s tennis is the number one women’s sport in the world. I believe that the future is in combined events, ie men’s and women’s competitions at the same time and in the same place. The Austrian mentality of constant protest worries me. We should think much more positively. We need figureheads for the next generation.”

… the future: “We have to make sure that people and sport remain in the foreground. Linz still lacks the budget for some things. Recreation is important, but fun has to come first.”

Herwig Straka (Director of the Erste Bank Open Tournament, CEO & Founder of e | movement group) about…

… OneVision to market women and men together: “As a sport, we’re missing out on so many opportunities because we’re not pulling together. There are ATP, WTA, ITF and four Grand Slam tournaments. Everyone markets themselves and that’s how you lose customers.”

joint event: “At the moment it’s not a problem in Austria for infrastructure reasons, but I also see the future in it. The events also grow through this cross-fertilization. “

… the future: “Our biggest competitor is the flat screen at home. Live has to be sexy, we’ve been trying to do that for years, we do a lot of entertainment. But you have to fight every year too. In Australia they also cover China. There is a lot of competition, you would have to reinvent yourself. We have to go there.”

Martin Ohneberg (ÖTV President) about…

… the society: “We focus on equality. Not because it’s trendy, but because we really believe in it. “

the Italian society as a role model: “The mentality and passion in general must improve in Austria. Sport must play a role, in Italy there is a different atmosphere. But it is also about the offer of the competition, the budget and the quality of the training. Of course, there are more residents in Italy, but six to eight million euros flow into the infrastructure there every year. Nothing flows into us. “