New York – The latest popular influencer on Tiktok’s “For You” page may be Scroller’s favorite tennis player.
At least that’s what ATP expects.
The Governing Body for Men’s Professional Tennis announced on Tuesday that it will partner with Tiktok to develop more tennis content on the platform and increase engagement.
There are two partnerships. One of the targets pointed out is player engagement aimed at building up followers on the platform and providing tennis fans with access to “behind the scenes” and “exclusive behind the scenes.”
Another goal is to create the Tennis Creator Network, an initiative that will help existing non-athlete creators create Tiktok content at ATP tour events.
“This strategic content partnership with Tiktok is based on current trends with audiences, putting ATP at the forefront of the intersection of culture and sports, creating discoverable content that will be cut in both players and tournaments.”
Currently, only 20 of the top 100 players in ATP are present on Tiktok. Some of these 20 have become verifiable stars on the platform. Carlos Alkaraz has 1.1 million followers, Novak Djokovic has 666,000 and Ben Shelton has 448,000. They share everything, from behind the scenes to how to watch tournaments to clips from mowing the lawn and learning calligraphy.
The ATP Tiktok account itself has nearly 600,000 followers.
This partnership is a recognition of the flame trends in sports media. This is honest, behind the scenes content created by athletes. Its popularity and virality is on the rise, and it appears everywhere, from Tiktok accounts to podcast studios.
In July, Minnesota Links players Courtney Williams and Nate Shaheedemann accumulated hundreds of thousands of viewers and followers after live streaming WNBA All-Star Weekend, parties and more, with what they called the “Stud Bods.” The duo is now turning momentum into official merchandise and new stardom.
Athlete Host podcasts with an hour of casual conversation from star athletes have also become headline makers. Chiefs tight end “New Heights” is obvious, but shows like Indiana Feverguard’s Sophie Cunningham’s “Show Me Shoums” spiked similar engagement as hosts provide candid insight into life beyond the game.
ATP aims to capitalize on its surge with behind-the-scenes content in this partnership.
“(It encourages more players to share their stories,” said Rolo Goldstove, head of Tiktok’s global sports partnership, “and it will spark more tennis cultural movements in Tiktok.”
