Fan behaviour and crowd atmosphere in tennis has forever been under the spotlight in what often becomes a divisive discussion. Is the customer, or in this case the fans, always right?
It comes as former No.7 David Goffin claimed he was spat on by a member of the crowd during his first round encounter at the French Open as he shared his frustration and disgust after a gruelling five set win.
Embed from Getty Images“When you are insulted for three and a half hours, you have to annoy the public a little,” he said.
“Clearly, it goes too far, it’s total disrespect. It’s becoming like football, soon here will be smoke bombs, hooligans, and there will be fights in the stands.”
Swift action was then taken by tournament director Amélie Mauresmo by banning alcohol for spectators for the remainder of the event as a consequence of a minority unable to showcase an ounce of maturity.
“Alcohol was until now authorised in the stands. Now it’s over,” said Mauresmo.
“This is something that we’re not going to tolerate, to overstep these two things. In terms of security, we’re going to try to see which people are maybe making [trouble], because I think it’s a few individuals at some point that are overstepping.”
What Goffin experienced is something that no player should ever be subjected to. These are world-class athletes trying to perform at the top of their game which is difficult enough without all of the outside noise and distractions.
Talking in between points is not the way forward, but there is no denying that the sport is in desperate need of more colour and atmosphere.
We have reached a stage in the modern game where catering for a younger audience is essential to make fans feel part of the experience. Take players like Nick Kyrgios and Daniil Medvedev as examples – both speed through their service games while noise is still echoing around the stadium and provide an enthralling entertainment factor.
The Australian Open are notoriously known for thinking one step ahead with fans at the forefront, as they created a courtside bar and allowed people to enter back into the stadium after every game instead of waiting for a change of ends.
Davis Cup is obviously a different environment compared to the ATP and WTA tours, yet its atmospheres like those tournaments which propel tennis to thrilling new heights.
Fans pay their hard-earned money to (respectfully) to enjoy the theatre element of what tennis has to offer – because it has the potential to lift neutrals off their seats.
There is a very fine line between accomodating for what a player desires and what spectators prefer. A balancing act needs to occur, but that’s easier said than done.
Do fans need to slash duck tape around their mouths so you can’t hear a pin drop? Can fans not support their favourite idols and heroes?
Coco Gauff recently made an interesting observation, suggesting that it would be preferable if the crowd noise was consistent instead of unexpected gasps and chants right before a serve.
To have a Wimbledon traditionalist approach is all well and good, only if the consequences of potentially turning fans away is taken into serious consideration.
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