Key PointsThe Australian Open tennis tournament has introduced a ‘party court’.It features a two-storey bar and a DJ right next the court.Not all players are fans of the concept, saying it makes it hard for them to concentrate.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was left yearning for the quiet decorum of Wimbledon after playing doubles with his brother Petros on the Australian Open’s new ‘party court’ on Tuesday.
Echoing the party holes that have become popular at some golf events, Court Six at Melbourne Park now has a double-decker bar running down one side of it and the thump of music played by a DJ accompanies the action.
Tsitsipas won his opening singles match in the more traditional confines of Rod Laver Arena on Monday but had less luck in the doubles, going down 7-5 7-5 with Petros to Daniel Altmaier and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela.
While they admitted the atmosphere was a distraction – Petros described it as a “very weird concept” – neither of the Tsitsipas brothers blamed it for their poor performances.
Stefanos said he understood there was always a desire to improve tennis as an entertainment product but said any moves to let fans wander around and make noise as they can at other sports events would need serious consideration.
“You don’t know until you’re a tennis player, when you’re trying to zone in, get in the zone, it’s difficult when you see movement and when you see stuff happening around you,” he said.
“There is a tiny little yellow ball flying around, and it requires your concentration sometimes over 100 per cent. If that can affect you at 5 per cent, we’re in trouble.
“I don’t know what the science behind it is. I would like for people to sort of do experiments and try and see how much it affects concentration.”
Petros said he had experienced similar noise on outer courts at other tournaments, including the US Open, and Stefanos said he had managed to block it out for the most part.
“I’m not a huge fan of it,” the singles seventh seed added.
“That’s why Wimbledon is one of my favourite tournaments, because there is silence and you can just concentrate and focus on your game.”
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