Djokovic's warning on the rise of padel: "It is necessary for tennis to innovate"

Novak Djokovic, tennis legend, urges the governing bodies of his sport to react to the rise of padel on the international scene.

© AFP

Adrien Guyot

le 05/12/2025 à 17h09

2 min to read

Djokovic

During the 2024 Wimbledon tournament, Novak Djokovic himself discussed the emergence of padel in a press conference after his victory against Alexei Popyrin in the third round. For the Serbian legend, who has won 24 Grand Slam titles, tennis lacks innovation and must do everything to attract a younger audience.

"We need to do better," says Djokovic

"I think it is necessary for tennis to innovate. With the Grand Slam tournaments, we must ensure we attract a younger audience. When you see what they have done in Formula 1, in terms of marketing and sport growth...

I think we need to do better. I respect the governing bodies (the ATP and WTA). The Grand Slams will always manage, but the ATP and WTA need to improve in this area. We are lucky to play a historic and globally known sport.

We need to increase the number of people who make a living from tennis. I very rarely see the media writing articles to remind that only 400 players, men and women combined, on the professional circuit, singles and doubles, live from this sport. For me, that is something really very concerning. When a player wins a Grand Slam, we focus on the financial side: 'He won so much money.' But what about the secondary circuits?

"Padel courts are more economically viable"

Tennis is loved by millions of young children around the world who pick up rackets. But we are not making this sport accessible and affordable to everyone, especially in countries like mine where the Federation does not have a huge budget," lamented Djokovic, thus holding tennis authorities accountable. According to him, tennis is clearly increasingly competing with other sports, and must notably manage the constant evolution of padel.

And Djokovic added: "Tennis is the king of racket sports, and that's true. Now, there is also padel which is constantly growing. People have fun when they play it. And at the club level, tennis is in danger.

If we do nothing about it, states will convert all tennis courts into padel and pickleball courts, it's more economically viable. With one tennis court, you can make three padel courts. If you do the math, it's more financially profitable for clubs to have these courts."

Find the full investigation

Find the full investigation "Does padel threaten tennis? Immersion in the revolution shaking the established order," which will be available in full on the weekend of December 7th on TennisTemple.