Over the last six months TikTok has invested heavily in sport partnerships, helping move the industry into the digital era as organisations in football, the Australian Football League (AFL) and tennis target a younger demographic of fans.

With the Australian Open finishing in January, TikTok teamed up with Tennis Australia (TA) and the tournament to help grow its presence.

The partnership came after the pair cooperated for the past few years, where TA gained an impressive following on the platform, and is now one of Australia’s most popular governing bodies.

To capitalise on the heightened interest in tennis content, TikTok launched the Australian Open branded search hub, which included an in-app landing page for anyone searching for relevant tennis content.

Additionally, the launch of the hub coincided with TA reaching one billion views on the platform, which has now reached over 1.6 billion.

Like with the AFL and Football Australia, TikTok has continued to excel in bringing content to their platform, with videos from broadcasters and star athletes including Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Daria Saville.

Videos also range from player interviews to match highlights, giving every user and tennis fan something to enjoy.

Jonathon Oake, TikTok APAC sport business development lead.

Commenting on their partnership with Tennis Australia, TikTok APAC sport business development lead, Jonathon Oake, said: “Tennis is extremely popular amongst TikTok’s community, with more than 13 billion views of #tennis videos. Not only does the sport itself create engaging content, but tennis also has a host of popular players that resonate with fans of all ages. TikTok also provides an interactive platform for fans to engage with their favourite players and, in turn, players can also use TikTok as a medium to connect with their fans.”

On TikTok’s future plans in tennis, Oake, continued: “There’s no doubt that the interest in tennis is growing across Australia as we’ve seen tournaments, locally and globally, return to the court after the pandemic. As an entertainment platform, TikTok will always look to partner with Tennis Australia, The Australian Open and other tennis tournaments globally.”

In September, TikTok joined up with the AFL, as the pair aimed to grow the presence of the AFL, AFLW and clubs at a local and international level by delivering fresh content to younger fans through behind-the-scenes footage and access to star athletes.

November saw TikTok grow their sports portfolio even more as they partnered with Football Australia, where the governing body brought exclusive behind-the-scenes footage to the Socceroos’ and Matildas’ accounts, which resulted in the sides expanding their social and digital offerings to fans.