Tennis: development, globalisation, and sociology in the international context

Abstract

Tennis today is a global sport, which provides a media platform for media and sports event companies to raise the profile of their brands and enhance the market appeal of their consumer goods and services, taking advantage of the high profile and iconic cultural status of relevant players that with the development of a consumer society has turned tennis players into "consumer idols". Undoubtedly, tennis has acquired a globalist character by successfully exploiting the world market and becoming an international game, so it constantly introduces innovations and new resources, to satisfy the needs and expectations of the players, be they professional sportsmen, amateurs, or commercial companies. This has led to the current globalisation, which allows access to techniques, competitions, or products anywhere in the world under similar conditions. The origins and historical trajectory of the development of this global sport are complex and show the transformation from a recreational game to a universally practised, commercialised, and globalised sport, which requires means of innovation in services, policies, and administrative aspects so that the increase in the number of participants in this sport and the economy it generates continues to grow. Another effect of globalisation has been the inversion of the social pyramid of practitioners, which went from royalty, nobility, and aristocracy in the 19th century, to a sport with practically no class distinction, inclusive and with gender equality.