Tennis influencers: The player effect on social media engagement and demand for tournament attendance

Understanding the interest of sports fans in professional tennis has valuable operational and marketing implications for tournament organisers, marketeers, player sponsors and the media. In sports, professional tennis in particular, the player effect on social media user engagement is still elusive. Using data from the 2019 Australian Open grand slam period, the authors examine Adler’s (1985) theoretical construct in the context of sports and...