It's no wonder that REAL TENNIS wasn't just feeling like an unsustainable financial venture. Production value isn't just money, it's PEOPLE. Valuable time and energy out of their lives, and sometimes one or more people realize they're empty on those resources needed to keep it all going. REAL TENNIS was pretty obviously (absolutely no shade on ANYONE ELSE on tennis UA-cam) the highest-production presentation by grassroots creators on this platform, with the sheer amount that went into every single video. That made it absolutely one of my favorite things in the world - honestly, maybe my favorite thing tennis has shown me so far. The...this word might make some scoff, but...the grief has had time to settle, and right now, I'm smiling because it happened. Thank you all so very much for the ride. I've loved it deeply. My opinion is that you all helped add to the personality of tennis with a unique non-top-touring-pro dramatic production. And there'll be a gaping hole in the sport, where REAL TENNIS used to be. I'm not interested in arguing that opinion with anyone at the moment, and anyone is free to take that as they will, too. Maybe the grief is still too fresh, or I'm afraid of differing opinions and differing truths from human to human. I'm hoping the latter possibility is receding a little bit within me. I'm very glad that channels like Winston's are seeing growth. You've heard my frustrations, Ian, about how rare it seems for tennis creators to obtain that growth (not for me, but for REAL TENNIS), and that makes me all the more thrilled to see that success IS out there. And I still accept the weird, passionate world of tennis for everything it is AND isn't. But man this really stings. And uh, more of that than I'd care to admit is based on my secret dream of getting good enough to play some matches on REAL TENNIS someday. But I mostly just really really liked watching it.
It’s been a fun ride-I’ve enjoyed being a part of this tribe for the past few years, and I enjoyed every match I played or covered in the booth. If there’s anything I hope we imparted to viewers, it’s that different styles and levels are all worthy-getting out and playing this great game, where you are a chess player, a bare-knuckle boxer, a geometrician, and a marathon runner all at once, makes you a friend of mine, even if we have never met. All of you are welcome to reach out if you are in the neighborhood, and I’d be delighted to get out and drill or play.
To sustain the engagements at a survivalable level, new contents need to be pump out constantly, daily or even more frequently. That takes a lot of resources and commitment. Furthermore, if it's about butts and boobs, you will have a wider range of viewers. Tennis is more like a niche. I'm actual puzzled these channels survive at all.
Keep in mind even pro tennis has trouble getting views on TV. You'd think more tennis nerds and those wanting game improvement would watch. I fear part of this is Pickleball steeling from tennis.
UA-cam is my favorite in-house entertainment, and Real Tennis is my favorite channel. The way the matches are presented is so interesting. I love hearing what the players are thinking during the changeovers and I love the commentators! I feel like you guys are my friends, Mark, Scott, Ben, Topher, Kevin, Ian, Chris and more! it's just so great. It's my favorite reality TV. I will miss you guys.
Thank you to the entire Real Tennis team for all the incredible content and amazing matches that you uploaded. It was such a pleasure to be featured on the channel and meet the team. Hopefully the channel can make a comeback down the road!
Your channel and everyone involved has been such a joy for me. Thank you for all the hard work you put in and all of the good times you created for all of us! 🎾
So sad. It was such great idea and I loved to watch these matches. I hope, you will find other options to make this happen. And thanks to Mark for all the work behind the camera!
Thank you, Ian, and everyone involved in creating the Real Tennis / Essential Tennis match content over the years. It's been an absolute pleasure to follow your journey. I will miss you guys. Greetings from Finland!
Thank you for putting this channel together. As I recall it came together during the pandemic when there were major restrictions on professional sports such as tennis and less content coming out in general. I suspect that competition to get sports viewers has increased as the volume of televised pro sports and streaming content has recovered.
Great content and great personalities. Plus very entertaining tennis. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Thanks to all involved. Will miss the channel. See you on Essential Tennis. And big ups to the production team. I know what it takes to put videos like these together.
What a sad video!! Really sorry to see all you guys go. I feel guilty I didn't financially support. Wouldn't have made a difference but I would feel better. A hug from Miami to all of you!! Godspeed.
RT is and was something I always enjoyed watching during or after work. Having the membership is/was a priviladge and will remember this effort from you guys for the rest of my life as it's made it mark there...deservedly so. Thank you all, and who knows what will manifest next. One door closes, another gate opens. Cheers as always. M
Ahh such a shame, I've followed the channel and essential tennis for a while. I hope it picks back up one day. Thanks Ian for all your hard work. I've got the book too!
I'm going to miss this channel, it has produced a lot of entertaining content during such a short period of time. Also, the editing has always been top notch.
Thank you Ian and all at your channel for the two (2) great years!!! We really appreciate it and your content. Sad to hear that it was not profitable. We know and root that your next channel or idea will successful. Will miss you all! Best!
Ian, I'm pissed right now. I can't believe that this is happening. I'm praying for this to return better than ever before again in the future. God bless you and everyone else who has been along for the ride. This is Seth/Tiger Woodard from Lexington NC the BBQ capital of the world sending you this. Have a blessed day and merry Christmas essential tennis
Ian I want to thank you for everything you’ve done. It’s much appreciated. Maybe this can still happen, but I was hoping for a ‘final boss’ match between you and Will Hamilton. That would be SICK. Thanks big guy. Tennis for life.
Thank you for all the content over the years. You are my favorite youtuber by far. That being said, I understand this move as you are not running a charity. Again, thank you and all the best for the future endeavors
Very sad about this news. I knew this channel this year and was the only one that dealt with the psychological part of tennis in a relevant way. Cheers from Brazil!
That’s sad. I’ve had many different UA-cam ventures of varying successes, so I totally get it! It’s much much harder than people think if you get an early breakout video. All I can say is that we all Hope something unforeseen happens and you guys can start making videos again quickly! Your fans really do appreciate all the hard work and we genuinely love these videos. Best tennis matches on YT by far! Come back soon ❤❤❤
As someone who has watched a number of your videos I just want to say that your hard work has been appreciated. Whenever I’ve watched your videos I always give a “like”. It’s not much but I figured every little bit helps. Good luck with whatever you do.
Really sad. As many have stated this also has been my favorite amateur tennis channel. Well produced. Interesting matchups. Great commentary. What a bummer.
UA-cam tennis is growing fast, maybe in the future high level recreational matchplay will become popular enough to come back. Love all your channels, you and your team are awesome!
Sad when this is the first video from this channel i get from the algo. I remember watching a few vids of this style on the main channel a few years ago but didn't know that content was moved to its own channel :(
Sad to see you go. I was a member when you first announced but there wasn't any content for a month then it was doubles which I don't care about. UA-cam rewards more frequent uploads so Winston videos get more exposure. Good luck and hopefully these comeback in one form or another. Thanks Ian
One direction, if comeback is a possibility, would be to do the vids more simply (one vid perspective, less editing). I've wondered if something like the SwingVision app (automatically cuts out non-play time) combined with periodic commentary would make vids like this easier to produce. Also, only one play camera in rear (Using SwingVision or similar) Like Winston. I'd guess that would make the game vids a lot easier to record/upload.
Each match has been a real pleasure to watch so while it may not have been monetarily profitable it made me remember why I loved amateur tennis so much.
?? You mention Winston Du and his channel and I would echo my past comments about this channel. As much as I appreciate how much effort it takes to post content his channel shows the basic issue in that the standard of playing is wholly different and much better, college level in his channel. Watching some of the players on this channel has been frankly painful and it’s hard to understand how you haven’t understood this. ?? Sorry I have been a critic but Good luck with the next step.
Completely understandable, the youtube algorithm has been more vicious than ever it seems. I can say for myself I remember 1-2 yrs ago watching regularly then when I was very busy I skipped a few videos here and there, only to the algorithm show me this again when MEP shows up again. Hopefully the algorithm and therefore the channel will improve in the future so we get to resume the match videos
Good content and good ideas can't always be monetized. No shame. You did what you love and it didn't work out. Most businesses don't succeed. In any case, I hope you go on to bigger things. Best of luck.
As a fellow tennis content creator, you need to simplify your content. Cut out the multiple cameras, do one camera and a voiceover. Less cost to produce. Find a way , dont give up
There were too many random dudes. Needed same maybe 6-10 fellas more often with something on the line at the end. Lost its lustre unfortunately because it was well made content but I didn’t know half the people were by the end. Like why should I care about some random dude against random dude? As opposed to angry old man v MEP etc
@@REALTENNIS I’m a huge fan of this channel and Essential Tennis but even I would skip a lot of episodes for the same reason laid out by OP. Whenever new REAL TENNIS content popped up on my feed I’d get really excited to watch but then go “aww it’s randoms again”. I watched all of the matches involving guys like Mark, Scott, yourself.. etc.
That's a pity but understandable. Great production. Really enjoyable, for me especially the high level singles. I'm not sure if it's true but I thought maybe you got most views for those matches.
why don´t you change content, like rackets reviews, equipment like tenis bags, shoes, etc. regardless of that, thanks for the amazing content this years
Thanks for all the entertaining matches. I watch a few different tennis match content creators and while the production isn't the same, it's still fun to watch matches, especially once you have established personalities. Ever think about cutting back on all the editing and just using 1 camera? I'm sure plenty of us would continue watching and you wouldn't have to spend so much money on editing (assuming that's what makes this channel unprofitable).
I love watching the pros, especially during the grand slams, but, can I really learn much from watching them? I think I learn much more from watching these matches because of the commentary and because the players are great, but not super-human mutants.
UA-cam is tough man. Hope to see Essential Tennis come back strong in 2025!
You know better than 99% of humans, sir! Congrats on all your success bro, you really deserve it.
Winston du! You are my inspiration! You inspired me to start my tennis channel 😊 would love to message you about tennis content creation for youtube
I think Winston should have traveled to Milwaukee
It's no wonder that REAL TENNIS wasn't just feeling like an unsustainable financial venture. Production value isn't just money, it's PEOPLE. Valuable time and energy out of their lives, and sometimes one or more people realize they're empty on those resources needed to keep it all going. REAL TENNIS was pretty obviously (absolutely no shade on ANYONE ELSE on tennis UA-cam) the highest-production presentation by grassroots creators on this platform, with the sheer amount that went into every single video. That made it absolutely one of my favorite things in the world - honestly, maybe my favorite thing tennis has shown me so far. The...this word might make some scoff, but...the grief has had time to settle, and right now, I'm smiling because it happened.
Thank you all so very much for the ride. I've loved it deeply. My opinion is that you all helped add to the personality of tennis with a unique non-top-touring-pro dramatic production. And there'll be a gaping hole in the sport, where REAL TENNIS used to be. I'm not interested in arguing that opinion with anyone at the moment, and anyone is free to take that as they will, too. Maybe the grief is still too fresh, or I'm afraid of differing opinions and differing truths from human to human. I'm hoping the latter possibility is receding a little bit within me.
I'm very glad that channels like Winston's are seeing growth. You've heard my frustrations, Ian, about how rare it seems for tennis creators to obtain that growth (not for me, but for REAL TENNIS), and that makes me all the more thrilled to see that success IS out there. And I still accept the weird, passionate world of tennis for everything it is AND isn't.
But man this really stings. And uh, more of that than I'd care to admit is based on my secret dream of getting good enough to play some matches on REAL TENNIS someday. But I mostly just really really liked watching it.
It’s been a fun ride-I’ve enjoyed being a part of this tribe for the past few years, and I enjoyed every match I played or covered in the booth. If there’s anything I hope we imparted to viewers, it’s that different styles and levels are all worthy-getting out and playing this great game, where you are a chess player, a bare-knuckle boxer, a geometrician, and a marathon runner all at once, makes you a friend of mine, even if we have never met. All of you are welcome to reach out if you are in the neighborhood, and I’d be delighted to get out and drill or play.
❤
I have been so puzzled on why this content isn't taking off! It has been sooo entertaining!
To sustain the engagements at a survivalable level, new contents need to be pump out constantly, daily or even more frequently. That takes a lot of resources and commitment. Furthermore, if it's about butts and boobs, you will have a wider range of viewers. Tennis is more like a niche. I'm actual puzzled these channels survive at all.
Keep in mind even pro tennis has trouble getting views on TV. You'd think more tennis nerds and those wanting game improvement would watch. I fear part of this is Pickleball steeling from tennis.
Years of fantastic content is all fans could have hoped for. In your videos you will be teaching us forever. Thanks for all the lessons.
Sorry to hear you are having to shut things down for a while.
Hopefully more people with recognize the quality of coaching info you provide on ET!!!
UA-cam is my favorite in-house entertainment, and Real Tennis is my favorite channel. The way the matches are presented is so interesting. I love hearing what the players are thinking during the changeovers and I love the commentators! I feel like you guys are my friends, Mark, Scott, Ben, Topher, Kevin, Ian, Chris and more! it's just so great. It's my favorite reality TV. I will miss you guys.
Thank you for being amazing and awesome.
Same to you, my friend! Miss your content very much.
Thank you Ian, and everyone at Real Tennis for all the videos throughout the years!
Thank you to the entire Real Tennis team for all the incredible content and amazing matches that you uploaded. It was such a pleasure to be featured on the channel and meet the team. Hopefully the channel can make a comeback down the road!
It was a great run. You will always be remembered as an innovator.
Your channel and everyone involved has been such a joy for me. Thank you for all the hard work you put in and all of the good times you created for all of us! 🎾
So sad. It was such great idea and I loved to watch these matches.
I hope, you will find other options to make this happen.
And thanks to Mark for all the work behind the camera!
How sad, this was my favorite tennis channel and it will be missed! A hug from Brazil
I have no idea why this channel does not have hundreds of thousands. I think the sport of tennis is going to blow up soon, i wouldn’t quit on it yet
Loved the content and format for amateur tennis. Hope to see you back soon.
Thank you, Ian, and everyone involved in creating the Real Tennis / Essential Tennis match content over the years. It's been an absolute pleasure to follow your journey. I will miss you guys. Greetings from Finland!
I LOVE this channel! Hope to see you back
Thank you for all the content on RT! It’s been a great ride. I hope something changes so we can all continue to enjoy RT.
Thank you for putting this channel together. As I recall it came together during the pandemic when there were major restrictions on professional sports such as tennis and less content coming out in general. I suspect that competition to get sports viewers has increased as the volume of televised pro sports and streaming content has recovered.
Great content and great personalities. Plus very entertaining tennis. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Thanks to all involved. Will miss the channel. See you on Essential Tennis. And big ups to the production team. I know what it takes to put videos like these together.
What a sad video!! Really sorry to see all you guys go. I feel guilty I didn't financially support. Wouldn't have made a difference but I would feel better. A hug from Miami to all of you!! Godspeed.
I will miss your channel and especially you, Ian. I hope to continue to see you at Essential Tennis.
Sorry to hear :( Come collab with us anytime you have that itch!! Love the content.
RT is and was something I always enjoyed watching during or after work. Having the membership is/was a priviladge and will remember this effort from you guys for the rest of my life as it's made it mark there...deservedly so.
Thank you all, and who knows what will manifest next. One door closes, another gate opens.
Cheers as always.
M
Ahh such a shame, I've followed the channel and essential tennis for a while. I hope it picks back up one day. Thanks Ian for all your hard work. I've got the book too!
Only just found the channel recently. Sorry to see you go - hopefully you’ll come back again.
I'm going to miss this channel, it has produced a lot of entertaining content during such a short period of time. Also, the editing has always been top notch.
Thank you Ian and all at your channel for the two (2) great years!!! We really appreciate it and your content. Sad to hear that it was not profitable. We know and root that your next channel or idea will successful. Will miss you all! Best!
Ian, I'm pissed right now. I can't believe that this is happening. I'm praying for this to return better than ever before again in the future. God bless you and everyone else who has been along for the ride. This is Seth/Tiger Woodard from Lexington NC the BBQ capital of the world sending you this. Have a blessed day and merry Christmas essential tennis
Merry Christmas, Tiger....very kind of you 🙏
Ian I want to thank you for everything you’ve done. It’s much appreciated. Maybe this can still happen, but I was hoping for a ‘final boss’ match between you and Will Hamilton. That would be SICK. Thanks big guy. Tennis for life.
Thanks for all the incredible content, and thanks to all the incredible players! Hope to see this come back in the future.
Thank you for all the content over the years. You are my favorite youtuber by far. That being said, I understand this move as you are not running a charity. Again, thank you and all the best for the future endeavors
I really appreciate you Ian and team!
Thanks for all the great content Ian , Your self MArk and all your people Scott Broady Angry old man loved all of it !!!
It was fun being a part of the RT content minus tge play. Lol
Hope things get going again in the future.
Thanks Ian and Mark!
Very sad about this news. I knew this channel this year and was the only one that dealt with the psychological part of tennis in a relevant way. Cheers from Brazil!
Thanx, Jules for all your hard work! You did a tremendous job!
And, of course, everyone else who pitched in to make this work!
I discovered this just now, learned a lot from last videos (Ben vs David). I hope this content comes back next year!
I am sad to see the channel go. The content is so good. Thank you for everything you do. Good luck and all the best.
Hats off to you and the team. Content was great! USTA should sponsor you.
That’s sad. I’ve had many different UA-cam ventures of varying successes, so I totally get it! It’s much much harder than people think if you get an early breakout video.
All I can say is that we all Hope something unforeseen happens and you guys can start making videos again quickly! Your fans really do appreciate all the hard work and we genuinely love these videos. Best tennis matches on YT by far! Come back soon ❤❤❤
Congrats on all your content success!
As someone who has watched a number of your videos I just want to say that your hard work has been appreciated. Whenever I’ve watched your videos I always give a “like”. It’s not much but I figured every little bit helps. Good luck with whatever you do.
Really sad. As many have stated this also has been my favorite amateur tennis channel. Well produced. Interesting matchups. Great commentary. What a bummer.
UA-cam tennis is growing fast, maybe in the future high level recreational matchplay will become popular enough to come back. Love all your channels, you and your team are awesome!
I’ve been an Essential Tennis subscriber for a long time and I didn’t know Real Tennis existed until a few weeks ago.
Thank you for the content and entertainment you have provided the tennis community
Thanks Ian and Team for all the content. Enjoyed for many years!!!!! Good luck and hopefully we can meet one day!!
Great job. Amazing work guys. Loved it
I really appreciate all you've done. It's been a fun ride.
Sad day! Amateur tennis must live on!
Hope to have you on the channel in the future, Trey. Congrats on all your success, greatly deserved.
Damn, so sad to hear this news. Best of luck Zuckerburg, and atleast you still own facebook.
😆
So sad 😢 The best tennis matchplay content on UA-cam by far!
Sad when this is the first video from this channel i get from the algo. I remember watching a few vids of this style on the main channel a few years ago but didn't know that content was moved to its own channel :(
Thank you so much for this content!
That's a shame. Best of luck with whatever you do next.
Sad to see you go. I was a member when you first announced but there wasn't any content for a month then it was doubles which I don't care about.
UA-cam rewards more frequent uploads so Winston videos get more exposure. Good luck and hopefully these comeback in one form or another. Thanks Ian
Thanks for all your work on this. Really added value to my tennis journey and will miss the channel!
One direction, if comeback is a possibility, would be to do the vids more simply (one vid perspective, less editing). I've wondered if something like the SwingVision app (automatically cuts out non-play time) combined with periodic commentary would make vids like this easier to produce. Also, only one play camera in rear (Using SwingVision or similar) Like Winston. I'd guess that would make the game vids a lot easier to record/upload.
Thank you Ian and team! i have been a fan for a long time and i am a little bit sad...
I really enjoyed the content, but you are not funding a charity, and it needs to be able to stand on its own … so I get it …
Each match has been a real pleasure to watch so while it may not have been monetarily profitable it made me remember why I loved amateur tennis so much.
Good luck and thanks for all the content!
Damn this really sucks Ian. Loved the content. I can see how mark was really involved. It was basically a better version of his own content.
Cheers, Ian! I really enjoyed this channel and loved the content. Hopefully, this isn't the final goodbye 🤞
The economy sucks if this channel isn't profitable. So sad. Thanks for everything you've done.
Always looked forward to the matches
Sorry to see it go
You guys made some great stuff and should be proud. Thank you!
But, have you tried... - kidding. So sad. This channel was amazing. Really high content/quality.
Sad to see this quality content not get the attention it deserves.
we're gonna miss you guys 😭
Good work overall. But at the end of the day, profitability is critical. Looking forward to the next chapter
?? You mention Winston Du and his channel and I would echo my past comments about this channel. As much as I appreciate how much effort it takes to post content his channel shows the basic issue in that the standard of playing is wholly different and much better, college level in his channel. Watching some of the players on this channel has been frankly painful and it’s hard to understand how you haven’t understood this. ?? Sorry I have been a critic but Good luck with the next step.
Poor Ian.
I'll be fine, it's the tennis community, at large, that really suffers from this. That's what hurts the most.
thank you to your team !!!. will be missed
Thank you Ian for the amazing content!!!
Would love to see this content on the main channel!
Gonna really miss the personalities.
Such a shame. Makes me wonder how others make it work. The first that comes to mind is Winston Du, but sure you looked into it.
That sucks! I wish you lot the best and hope you can create match videos in the future on this channel or on ET.
THANK YOU ALL
Completely understandable, the youtube algorithm has been more vicious than ever it seems.
I can say for myself I remember 1-2 yrs ago watching regularly then when I was very busy I skipped a few videos here and there, only to the algorithm show me this again when MEP shows up again.
Hopefully the algorithm and therefore the channel will improve in the future so we get to resume the match videos
Good content and good ideas can't always be monetized. No shame. You did what you love and it didn't work out. Most businesses don't succeed. In any case, I hope you go on to bigger things. Best of luck.
Always enjoyed the content. Unfortunate when high production value doesn’t translate into views
dude this was the first video the algo presented to me, from this channel...
whoa.....weird
As a fellow tennis content creator, you need to simplify your content. Cut out the multiple cameras, do one camera and a voiceover. Less cost to produce. Find a way , dont give up
will miss you guys!
We'll miss you
This was actually a fun channel to watch. Too bad.
Very very strange that there aren't a ton more subscribers. Been totally fun to watch and hate on MEP and Mark.
8k subs for super niche tennis content is actually quite high, sadly.
The old content back in the original location was great. Too bad you guys lost your space.
You tried building on a foundation of sand, what else did you expect?
Wise words.
Babe wake up, Ian is quitting again 😢
If only success came in a straight line
There were too many random dudes. Needed same maybe 6-10 fellas more often with something on the line at the end. Lost its lustre unfortunately because it was well made content but I didn’t know half the people were by the end. Like why should I care about some random dude against random dude? As opposed to angry old man v MEP etc
Interesting comment, you may be totally correct
@@REALTENNIS I’m a huge fan of this channel and Essential Tennis but even I would skip a lot of episodes for the same reason laid out by OP.
Whenever new REAL TENNIS content popped up on my feed I’d get really excited to watch but then go “aww it’s randoms again”. I watched all of the matches involving guys like Mark, Scott, yourself.. etc.
That's a pity but understandable. Great production. Really enjoyable, for me especially the high level singles. I'm not sure if it's true but I thought maybe you got most views for those matches.
why don´t you change content, like rackets reviews, equipment like tenis bags, shoes, etc. regardless of that, thanks for the amazing content this years
Mark, organized? You should the chaos on his Discord. 😂
Thanks for all the entertaining matches. I watch a few different tennis match content creators and while the production isn't the same, it's still fun to watch matches, especially once you have established personalities. Ever think about cutting back on all the editing and just using 1 camera? I'm sure plenty of us would continue watching and you wouldn't have to spend so much money on editing (assuming that's what makes this channel unprofitable).
Will we get match play on essential tennis?
No, sorry
I love watching the pros, especially during the grand slams, but, can I really learn much from watching them? I think I learn much more from watching these matches because of the commentary and because the players are great, but not super-human mutants.