ATP announces record growth in social and digital audience | ATP Tour

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ATP announces record growth in social and digital audience

June 26, 2024

The ATP has today announced record growth in the social and digital audience for its tennis players, tournaments and tour, a boost made possible by the growing popularity of the sport, its established and future stars and world-class tournaments.

Over the past 12 months, ATP players’ social media audiences have increased by 10% to 168 million globally, while ATP tournaments have increased their social media following by 16% to 8.8 million. Over the same period, the ATP Tour’s social channels across all social media platforms have seen record growth of 48% to 2.9 billion, video views are up 159%, total social media audiences are up 7% to 9.7 million followers and web visits are up 15%.

“The incredible growth in popularity of ATP players and tournaments over the past year is reflected in the increased audiences and social media engagement of our athletes and tour,” said Andrew Walker, Senior Vice President, Brand and Marketing, ATP Tour. “In particular, our athletes are increasingly entering mainstream culture, attracting new fans to the ATP. Our social and marketing strategies are designed to strengthen and foster a more inclusive fan outreach.”

A total of 17 ATP tennis players have accumulated more than a million followers on social networks. Over the past 12 months, ATP players have generated more than 3.8 billion impressions on their social media channels. During that same period, ATP players have attracted more than 15 million new fans to their social accounts. This increase comes after the establishment of a specific ATP Player Marketing department in 2023, created to offer a digital content service tailored to players, aimed at improving the athlete’s personal brand and their audiences.

The ATP Masters 1000, ATP 500 and ATP 250 tournaments have collectively generated a significant increase in social media views over the past 12 months, with social media views increasing by 233% to 787 million, social media impressions up 145% to 1.5 billion and social media reactions up 133% to 46 million. The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments alone have generated a 252% increase in social media views to 545 million. Impressions grew by 175% to 1.1 billion, while reactions rose by 163% to 34 million.

The increases in reach across the official ATP Tour social channels follow the establishment of a new social and content strategy. The plan is based on collaborations and cross-posting, with a focus on expanding Instagram and TikTok, trend-based content, increased collaboration with other athletes, events, leagues and entities such as Real Madrid, the NBA and Formula 1 to develop engaging content. In addition, the ATP Tour social strategy has prioritised vertical video, highlights and powerful off-court content to drive engagement with the biggest stars on tour, in close collaboration with ATP Media. This content has boosted the ATP Tour’s average social media impact by 23% over the past year and total social media impacts by 87% to 139 million.

Additionally, total minutes viewed over the past 12 months on ATPTour.com have increased by 20%, page views are up by 13% and users are up by 7%.