Many tennis fans were disappointed to learn that star player Rafael Nadal would not be coming to Austin this weekend for a Davis Cup quarterfinal match between Spain and the USA. Nadal announced he would not play in the tournament in late June because he wanted to recover after Wimbledon.
Before the announcement, the match had sold out.
In addition to individuals who wanted to see Nadal’s performance, some of the seats were purchased by ticket resellers such as Ticket City who were estimating the price they could sell the tickets at based on Nadal’s participation.
It’s always a bit of a gamble because the final list of players is never officially announced until after ticket sales begin.
“With Nadal being in it that would definitely be in our benefit,” said Amy Carpenter, vice president of marketing at Ticket City. “So now that he’s not going to be there, it has taken a little bit away from the attractiveness of the event to our customers and clients.”
Carpenter said Ticket City will now profit less from the event but she is still confident the tickets they have will sell out, just at a lower price.
There is a silver lining: the new price point means people who couldn't afford to go otherwise can now see the tournament.
“Now that prices have gone down a bit we’ve gotten some additional interest,” Carpenter said.