Football the benchmark, says tennis chief

The chief executive of the All-England Club says tennis can learn from football in its quest for popularity.

The man who holds the position, Ian Ritchie, believes that tennis can look at how football has taken the world by storm and hope to replicate that.

“I think there is a lot to learn from being exposed to the general activities in football as well as tennis,” Ritchie told Omnisport at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester on Thursday.

“I think there is a great crossover (between football and tennis) about how things work.”

“The main issue is about how you get a spectator experience working, what are you doing with your sponsors, how is your broadcast arrangements working. All of those are pretty common.”

The All-England Club hosts the annual Wimbledon Championships, one of four tennis grand slams.