Unlike soccer, tennis has a special audience in Turkey

Another tennis expert, Cahit Yavuz, a board member of the İstanbul Cup who also works as a columnist at the Sabah daily and as a tennis commentator for the numerous television stations that broadcast tennis matches, agreed with Kılıç about the spectators of the sport. Yavuz claimed that tennis spectators are more knowledgeable than their soccer counterparts because they tend to know the game in depth and follow it very closely.

The court is filled with spectators for the Sony Ericsson Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour İstanbul Cup, which is the biggest tennis event held in Turkey, said Yavuz, emphasizing that tennis is growing in popularity in Turkey. "There are two reasons why the sport is becoming popular in Turkey. It started with the tennis match between [former sports minister and now Justice Minister] Mehmet Ali Şahin and [famous Turkish celebrity] Hülya Avşar. The match was played on a boat sailing down the Bosporus before the second İstanbul Cup to promote the tournament. The second reason is that the culture of the sport appeals to people," Yavuz explained.

Yavuz believes that Avşar was very important in the promotion of the sport; when other Turkish women saw Avşar playing tennis, they also believed they could do it. Apart from the İstanbul Cup international tennis tournament, the federation also holds tennis tournaments nationwide. Also noting the growing interest in the sport in Turkey, Kılıç said the federation organizes numerous activities in many of Turkey's provinces, and they are encouraged by people's interest in the tournaments. "We have tournaments in many provinces from [the eastern province of] Van to [the southeastern province of] Gaziantep. We are spreading the sport to the entire country. For example, we have launched a project called ‘Oyna ve Oyunda Kal' [Play and Stay] in [the eastern province of] Ağrı with the support of the governor of the province. The project will be spread to other provinces as well," he explained.

People play more tennis than soccer in Turkey

There are more people who play tennis on courts than people who play soccer on fields, if we exclude those who play soccer on the streets, Yavuz said. "In 2001 and 2002, 45,000 tennis rackets -- from the beginner to the most professional model -- were sold each year. In 2008, 100,000 rackets were sold. That means 100,000 people actively play tennis. In total, 500,000 people play tennis in Turkey," Yavuz said, adding that interest will only increase in the sport.

The number of tennis courts is also increasing in tandem with the number of rackets sold. Apart from the facilities of sport clubs, many of the newly constructed building complexes include tennis courts. "The number of tennis courts being constructed exceeds the number of soccer fields," Yavuz said.

The general perception in Turkey that tennis is an expensive sport is not shared by tennis experts. Yavuz and Kılıç agree that tennis can be expensive, but only in the beginning due to training costs, after which it costs the same as many other sports.

Yavuz compared tennis and soccer -- which is known to be the least expensive sport -- in that sense: "There is a considerable difference in the expenses of soccer and tennis in the beginning. Tennis is all about technique. You can kick the ball and play soccer, but tennis requires education. But after learning, you can buy a racket according to your budget and play with it for 20 years. If you want to join a tennis club, membership fees range between TL 400 and 1,000 for a year. It is less than the cost of being a regular smoker. There are also municipally owned courts, which are free of charge."

We need trainers better equipped to bring up a champion

Despite the fact that the sport is on the rise in the country, Turkish tennis players do not have internationally outstanding successes. "We have championships in the regional tournaments in the Balkans," Kılıç said, adding that Turkish tennis players can participate in the Grand Slams, which is a recent success that could not have been achieved in the past.

"You can calculate international success by looking at the international rankings. Only İpek Şenoğlu entered the list of the top 100 in the WTA doubles' ranking. Sixteen-year-old Melis Sezer ranks 140th in juniors and is a promising player. Male tennis players are not as successful as women in Turkey," Yavuz said. He attributes the absence of an outstanding success to the lack of adequate trainers who can raise a Grand Slam champion. "In fact, we have good trainers, but they can only bring a player to a certain point. We need to model ourselves on the techniques of the champion-making systems around the world," he explained.

Along with the people who play tennis, the number of tennis tournaments is also rising each year. According to data from the İstanbul branch of the Turkish Tennis Federation, 36 international tournaments were held last year in the country. For 2009, 14 more tournaments have been added to the schedule, bringing the total to 50. In addition to the 50 international tournaments, 80 national tournaments will be organized nationwide this year.