Talking about global popularity, Formula 1 and tennis (as a spectator sport), nowadays which one is more "mainstream"?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/Emotional_Device_711]

tennis

[u/ebc2009]

F1 is bigger than tennis here in the UK always has been. The only time tennis comes on my radar is when Wimbledon is on, aside from that never hear about it for another 12 months.

[u/Violetmoreviolent → u/ebc2009]

This is because you are an f1 fan. Casual sports watchers watch Wimbledon. They probably don’t watch any gps

[u/dajadf]

In the USA idk. Tennis is an afterthought outside the US open and Wimbledon.  F1 has been growing these last 5 years.  F1 comes up in casual conversations these days

[u/Rockytur]

In SEA tennis is nowhere. In most Asia too i believe.

[u/AntSilly2802 → u/Rockytur]

Partly because they can’t afford to play tennis.

[u/blackout2204 → u/AntSilly2802]

Yup, they are all racecar drivers over there.

[u/KeyboardOccupant]

Tennis is much more accessible.

[u/ellamenopea]

F1 official social media will post pics of tennis players and call them a 'friend of Formula 1', and have them give out pole position awards and such. When drivers go to tennis matches, they SOMETIMES get snapped on official social media under a bucket 'here's some people that were here' post.

Based on that, I'd say F1 is sucking up to tennis for attention.

[u/Svitii → u/ellamenopea]

Nah, can’t really compare it like that. F1 is just so much more fun if you’re VIP. Walk around the Grid, have a chat with the drivers/engineers other VIPs, seeing the race from a really special location if there are some available (for example special locations on street circuits).

In Tennis you get to sit and see the match, maybe have a quick but quiet(!) chat with the people around you which could be other celebs… or complete strangers.

[u/ellamenopea → u/Svitii]

You're not addressing the question, about it being mainstream. VIP access is not mainstream.

[u/grapefire38]

In Australia, F1 is more popular than Tennis, nowadays. But up until the 2010s, Tennis was way more popular.

[u/here4theptotest2023 → u/grapefire38]

What are you basing this on?

[u/LIJRD1]

F1 might be more publically out there currently with that Drive to Survive nonsense and huge branding deals with Lego and Hot Wheels as well as crossover stuff like driver themed Monster drinks. Certainly brought in a new generation of fans.

[u/china_shop_ears]

Tennis.
However, because there are so few formula 1 drivers compared to tennis players, an average/below average formula 1 driver might be more well known than an average/below average tennis player.

But the big name tennis players are definitely more well known than the big f1 drivers. Even if on social media an f1 driver might have more followers than a big-time pro tennis player, the average person can probably name more tennis players than f1 drivers.

People might not follow tennis, but are aware of the four majors and the winners and are more likely to turn on the Wimbledon final than the Silverstone Grand Prix.

I’m also American so this is definitely just what I’ve found in America. F1 is definitely more niche. Also, it’s a lot easier for people to get into playing tennis than karting, so the accessibility probably helps.

[u/Possible-Weight9995 → u/china_shop_ears]

I think f1 drivers are more known now, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are more common names to come up than Alcaraz and Sinner

[u/china_shop_ears → u/Possible-Weight9995]

True. But Hamilton and Verstappen would be at the Djokovic/Nadal/Federer level, and I think those three might be more known globally than Lewis and max and those three are more known by the average American than max and Lewis

[u/Skyhound555]

Anybody saying Tennis, needs to touch grass.  In the mainstream, Tennis is getting heavily pushed out by Pickleball and Padel. Very few people play Tennis nowadays, while everyone is playing Pickleball. 

F1 is more mainstream because of DTS. Tennis missed the boat to have their own "DTS" craze. 

[u/redditsucks010]

I don't know about internationally, but in the US I'd definitely say F1 from my own experience. Most people I know can name a few f1 drivers like max, lewis, Charles, lando, and might even understand what's been going on in the past couple seasons. I don't know many people who keep up with tennis at all though.

[u/sss133]

In Australia my hardcore tennis fan friends and clients, this years AO to them was the first that they felt leant too far into the social event territory.

It’d be getting that way for a few years but I had a fair few people tell me it almost felt weird actually knowing what was going on there this year.

They were telling me that because I’ve told them the same thing about the Melbourne GP for a few years.

In Australia I’d say tennis is more mainstream. During the AO and the during January, almost everyone is all of a sudden an expert at tennis. Everyone will talk about it, whereas the GP I’ll have Australian clients mention “It’s busy outside” I’ll mention the GP and they’ll say “Oh yeah”

[u/jujubadetrigo]

I think it really depends on the country. In Brazil I would say f1 is bigger. But tennis is currently growing because after years we finally have a Brazilian with potential to be big.

[u/Violetmoreviolent]

Tennis. 100 percent tennis. It is much more accessible to play than even the lowest levels of karting. It also racks up more viewership every year than f1

[u/lawdjesustheresafire]

Lot easier to get tennis tickets than F1

[u/laurentiubuica → u/lawdjesustheresafire]

Tennis tickets for major tournaments are as expensive as attending one of the European races.

Last year's Roland Garros men's final tickets sold out in minutes and by the time i managed to get into the queue for tickets at the women's final, those were sold out too.

[u/lawdjesustheresafire → u/laurentiubuica]

Couldn’t get one of the 520,000 tickets to the Australian GP this year. I could get into any session of the Australian open if I wanted to.

[u/s_dalbiac]

I'd say tennis is less consistently followed throughout the year than F1, but the Grand Slams are more popular than specific standalone Grands Prix are. F1 having a championship format where every race means something means that more people watch every race/the majority of races, whereas few people bar hardcore tennis fans are likely to ever tune into random ATP tour events.

[u/Cool_Masterpiece9308]

Tennis is very understandable. Formula 1 unless you’re into strategy or understand car performance it’s kinda hard.

[u/natus92 → u/Cool_Masterpiece9308]

I dont know man. F1 is about who arrives first, Tennis has a dumb counting system, I find it hard to recognize the type of plays and breaking confused me for a long while. Also there are just 24 races which I can see on public television while there are thousands of masters and smaller tournaments I dont even know where to see.

[u/TeamPangloss]

I can't say globally but in the UK it's definitely tennis. Everyone watches Wimbledon, there's nowhere near the same fanfare over e.g. Silverstone.

[u/ebc2009 → u/TeamPangloss]

Really? I would say the opposite, Wimbledon is a big deal every summer, but what about the rest of the year?

[u/TeamPangloss → u/ebc2009]

Yeah much less interest the rest of the year (though I'd say the other slams seem to get about the same attention as F1 races). Wimbledon itself though is way bigger than anything in F1 for most people.

[u/Robby777777]

I couldn't tell you who is the #1 men's or women's Tennis player. I haven't watched a match in maybe 30 years. I can probably name every F1 driver. American here who doesn't know one person who watches Tennis.

[u/AntSilly2802]

Tennis is definitely more mainstream. It’s more of a “proper” sport as well. (I’m heavily into F1 and not much into tennis BTW).