MAKNA SPORTAINMENT BAGI INDIVIDU TERHADAP PENINGKATAN POPULARITAS TENIS DI INDONESIA (STUDI FENOMENA MASYARAKAT KOTA MALANG)

The purpose of this study is to understand how sportainment, as a form of sports entertainment, shapes individuals’ perceptions, experiences, and social identification with tennis in Indonesia, particularly in Malang City. The research focuses on examining how sportainment events contribute to the rising popularity of tennis and identifying the factors that influence the growing public interest in the sport, especially in Malang. This study employs a qualitative research method with a phenomenological approach. Data were collected through observation, documentation, and in-depth interviews with key actors involved in the sport, including athletes, coaches, recreational players, and tennis communities. The findings show that sportainment generates new symbols that present tennis as more inclusive and entertaining, encouraging individuals to form new identities as tennis enthusiasts and participants. This is evidenced by the increasing number of people taking up tennis, and the growing emergence of tennis communities and clubs. This phenomenon is analyzed using George Herbert Mead’s theory of symbolic interactionism, which posits that sportainment influences how people interpret and assign meaning to the sport of tennis. The analysis is based on three core concepts: mind, self, and society. Mind explains how thought processes create new interpretations of tennis; self reflects how individuals adopt the perspectives of others in social interactions; and society shows how individuals and groups co-construct shared meanings through structured social interactions. Thus, sportainment effectively transforms the social meaning of tennis in society, shifting its image from being exclusive to becoming part of a more open and accessible popular culture.