In case you hadn't known, tennis and badminton are from a similar sporting family – they are both racquet sports. However, tennis is played using a round, bouncy ball whilst badminton is played using a shuttlecock. The style of play for both games also vary.

I used to wonder some time ago, “Why is tennis more lucrative, as in it offers more prize money, compared to badminton?” I mean, an international badminton tournament would offer around $20, 000 to the winner whilst winning a tennis tournament would offer in excess of $200, 000 at the very least, not including the appearence fees.

Now, I know the answer to my question. The facts and factors are disclosed below, and I believe some facts are pretty apparent, while the others are not. But do keep in mindthat I am not saying tennis is more fun to watch or nicer to play, I am just merely answering my question above.



The Popularity Factor







Who is more popular – badminton world champion and Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan of China or the Swiss world number one, Roger Federer, the greatest sportsman to have graced the tennis courts? If you are to speak on a regional basis (East Asia) of course Lin Dan is to be the answer, but speaking on a global platform, the obvious answer would be Roger Federer. Since the finest tennis star is more popular on the global stage, the conclusion is that tennis has more star power over badminton.



The Marketability Factor






Where do the traditional badminton powerhouses hail from? Apart from Denmark who are from Europe, the others are from the Asean and East Asian region. On the other hand, many tennis stars come from economically sound backgrounds such as from the United States, Russia, Australia and Belgium. So, if sponsors want to market their products, they would pay more to the tennis fraternity as there lies a wider market reach, much unlike badminton.


The Viewership Factor







How many global, internationally-acclaimed sports network broadcast live badminton matches? A handful only, if you compare such statistics with that of tennis. Major sports networks, such as Sky Sports, ESPN, ITV Sports and Star Sports almost never telecast any international level badminton games on their networks, but it is a direct contrast with the hours of airtime devoted to tennis tournaments and championships held week in week out all around the world.



The Match-time Factor







Ever heard of a tennis game stretching up to an epic four hour battle? Of course, but the same cannot be said of badminton games as the longest that badminton games last is around the hour-mark. On average, tennis games take around 2 hours to complete whilst badminton games take around 40-minutes. This results in more airtime for tennis on televisions, and therefore, tennis makes much more bucks if compared to badminton taking into account this aspect.



The Fashion Factor







How much does Maria Sharapova earn for parading different earrings each time she steps onto the courts? News reports state that she could earn up to millions for just that. But it doesn’t stop there. Tennis stars are paid tons of money to parade the latest in fashion – ranging from necklaces to watches. And they love being talked about their fashion sense every much as being talked about their playing skills. In contrast to that, I have never heard of these things in the badminton world.


The Verdict


All the factors stated above inevitably result in more money being pumped into tennis, and only a fraction of it being pumped into the international badminton circuit. By taking into account all those factors too, we can come about the conclusion that tennis has more star power and a wider global appeal. Henceforth, those are the underlying reasons as to why tennis is a more lucrative sport and offers bigger prize money as compared to badminton.