IPTL Singapore leg suffers poor turnout
It is regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious tennis events for the past two years. But the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) saw a drop in attendance for its Singapore leg after its organisers announced that tennis superstars Roger Federer and Serena Williams would not be playing here.
Empty seats were seen across all three days of the IPTL from Tuesday to Thursday (6-8 December) at the Singapore Indoor Stadium – the average daily attendance was estimated to be about 1000 – 1500, according to a number of people who attended the event.
When asked by Yahoo Singapore about the turnout on Tuesday, UAE Royals player Ana Ivanovic said, “It was nice and they (tennis fans) were still supportive. I think it will get a little busier over the next few days.”
However, attendance barely picked up over the next two days. One spectator, Henryl Moreno, a 37-year-old editor, estimated the attendance to be around 700 people on the final day but he added there were more people for the second match of that day.
The long-time tennis fan was disappointed by the low turnout. “I go to the WTA Finals every year, and the IPTL attendance is a bit low compared to that,” Moreno said.
“I was expecting more people on the final day because the event is better than a regular tennis match and the format is more exciting.”
Despite the low turnout, Moreno said the atmosphere wasn’t lacking. “It was quite good, like watching a basketball match,” he said.
Both Federer and Williams were slated to turn up in Singapore, but IPTL announced on the first day that both would not be participating.
It is believed that IPTL is facing financial difficulties, which likely contributed to the players’ absence. A statement on the IPTL Facebook page from its founder Mahesh Bhupathi said that the event organisers have “had challenges this year and were hoping to get past them”.
“With the current economic climate in India and the uncertainty of spending money, I reached out to both Roger and Serena to explain the situation,” the statement added.
Many upset fans took to IPTL’s official Facebook page to vent their frustrations.
One of them, Valen Fallore, felt that the organisers were using “big names to boost ticket sales”, while another, Jo Nickson, said the organisers should have confirmed the attendance of all the players before they released tickets for sale.
The final leg of the third season of IPTL is taking place in India from Friday to Sunday (9-11 December).
