With a couple of exceptions, Latin American countries have always been about soccer. Tennis has never really been a big sport in this part of the world, and it is hardly surprising. Latin America has rarely produced top tennis stars. You can probably count the number of tennis stars on one hand. However, this is now changing…and it is all thanks to expats and the increase in popularity of tournaments like the Miami Open.
Tennis is a Sport People Are Familiar With
As we said, in Latin American countries, soccer is very much the sport of choice. There may be a dash of baseball here and there, but not so much.
Many expats heading into Latin American countries come from the USA. As tennis is much more accessible than the sports they normally follow, they jump in on the action. They start to become fans. Get interested in tennis, and before you know it, they are tuning into the Miami Open and all sorts of other major tennis tournaments.
Increase In The Number Of People Playing Tennis
Latin American countries have never really had a huge tennis-playing industry. However, this has started to change. While your typical grass and clay tennis courts are out, beach tennis is in. Sure, it is a little bit different from standard tennis, but you will be surprised at the number of people playing the game on beaches throughout these countries.
Of course, the prevalence of beach tennis has resulted in more and more people getting involved in playing proper tennis. This normally comes in the form of watching a few pro tennis games on TV, then picking up a racket and playing at a local park and then maybe joining their local tennis club.
Increase In Top Latin America Players
This is the main reason why we think that tennis is starting to become so popular among Latin American country expats.
When an expat moves to a country like Costa Rica, they try and blend in with the local culture as much as possible. They may start to support a few of the local teams and following players that are seeing a lot of success in these countries.
As we said before, Latin American countries haven’t really had a huge amount of success on the world tennis stage, but this does seem to be changing. A lot of countries have some amazing youth tennis programs, and they have been producing some fantastic players. For example, nobody would be surprised if countries like Argentina are not seriously challenging for a few titles in the coming years.
They have had some success in Tennis Grand Slams already, and almost every youth tennis player produced by the country seems to be promising.
And, back to expats. Because these countries are now starting to see some success on the world tennis stage, expats across the countries are starting to get more excited about what their countries are doing. This gets them watching tennis which, in turn, increases the popularity of the sport.
Easier To Watch Tennis Than Ever Before
Of course, this is all meaningless if it is impossible to watch pro tennis in Latin American countries. Thankfully, it isn’t. It is now easy to watch both major and minor tournaments than it has ever been.
For example, every single game from the Miami Open is broadcast live on ESPN in most countries. Because many of the top players are are playing at tournaments like the Miami Open nowadays, the Latin American players are getting a chance to shine, and people in Latin American countries are tuning in with great regularity.
We expect the same to happen with all major tournaments, and tennis certainly has a lot of room to grow in Latin American countries. Expect more expats to get involved in the rapidly growing scene.
Final Word
Expats in Latin American countries are now starting to pay serious attention to the world of pro tennis. It isn’t just because the sport is easier to watch on TV either. Sure, being able to watch things like the Miami Open helps.
However, it also helps that many of these countries are going crazy for the fantastic players that they have rising through the tennis ranks. More tennis clubs are popping up than ever before too. All of this allows expats to really get into the tennis action.
