Empty Seats at Saudi Smash

[DOMZ56]

What is the point of holding a massive tournament where players have to fly ages to and have tons of cost and table tennis isn't even popular there, as seen by lack of crowd even on Table 1? How does WTT expect to recoup their 2 million and more by having an embarrassing low number of spectators?

 

[Gozo Aruna]

What is the point of holding a massive tournament where players have to fly ages to and have tons of cost and table tennis isn't even popular there, as seen by lack of crowd even on Table 1? How does WTT expect to recoup their 2 million and more by having an embarrassing low number of spectators?

Uncle Liu will ask Grand Uncle Xi to pay for it.

 

[PaddyPolar]

Most WTT tournements, especially the ones not near/in China, have loads of empty seats. Those amounts of empty seats occur more in places that table tennis is not very popular.

If you look at ITTF or national events it is a lot more people and a much greater atmosphere. For example watch some videos from the European games from a while back.

 

[Aizen]

Luckily (unluckily for me) all seat are sold for Paris even 1 year before.

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

when you have so many WTT events in a calendar year (if including youth/feeders), we talking over one every week and most of them are not in TT population heavy places,
you won't have fans flying in all the time.
The Chinese fans might rock up for the last 2 days and that is about it

regarding local - some other forum member here was saying, its so important to grow the sport and hosting WTT will help (I disagree)
well, it doesn't help at all. Most people who plays table tennis socially, probably doesn't even know there is a tournament nearby

 

[Jimbob MacInbred]

What is the point of holding a massive tournament where players have to fly ages to and have tons of cost and table tennis isn't even popular there, as seen by lack of crowd even on Table 1?

I agree with Tony here that this is in some cases the reason:

when you have so many WTT events in a calendar year (if including youth/feeders), we talking over one every week and most of them are not in TT population heavy places,
you won't have fans flying in all the time.
The Chinese fans might rock up for the last 2 days and that is about it

But let's not be naive here, "Sportwashing" is - in a lot of cases - the main (and underlying) issue here. It has been going on for a long time, way before WTT was established, and it's certainly not limited to tt only. Chess, Golf, Soccer etc., you name it.

Sportswashing - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Gtsnake]

Well in the US there isn't as much interest in TT. At some of the early league games here you can hear only crickets in the stands. Even the finals only had maybe a hundred spectators. And I bet most of those people are related to the players.

 

[Jimbob MacInbred]

Well in the US there isn't as much interest in TT.

Sure, unfortunately, but I didn't say it (sportwashing) is always the case. Sportwashing does happen on a large scale, though.

 

[Atas Newton]

I was actually pleasantly surprised with the amount of spectators at Saudi Smash, especially at tables 2 and 3. Doha usually feels a lot more dead

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

Take the recently concluded Philippines WTT Junior
2 years in a row in a remote holiday island.
No mainlander will take the trouble to go and watch table tennis there.

I heard that it is because that "city" has money to host. No other city wants to host.
So you have a WTT in the country - where local players can play, and that is about it.
The local players are not good enough... and there are no spectator for 2 years on the trot.

What purpose does it serve? Hoping WTT, or someone with more inside info can answer that and I'm sure there is still 1 more year of the same to go.

Taiwan taking a clean sweep of all the events they have players for.

 

[Gtsnake]

Maybe by holding organized events they hope to grow the sport. Whether there are spectators or not at least there's something legitimizes the sport to have organized events instead of playing at a community center or gym.