Should tennis be more like basketball? “Too much of a distraction,” says Match Points panel

Frances Tiafoe’s recent idea to boost crowd interaction gets pretty short shrift

Novak Djokovic, Australian Open 2023 – © AI / Reuters / Panoramic

April 13, 2023

Frances Tiafoe recently suggested tennis should be more like basketball, letting fans talk throughout the points, move around if they want to and generally make plenty of noise while the tennis is going on in front of them, in order to boost the atmosphere at tournaments.

In the latest episode of Match Points, former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli and journalists Simon Cambers and Ben Rothenberg debate Tiafoe’s suggestion and come up with a variety of reasons why it might not be practical to do in competitive matches.

Bartoli: “In tennis you have to focus so much”

“I have a tough time with that,” Bartoli says. “Basketball is a team sport, it’s not the same, you have to focus point in, point out. I think especially before the point; when the point starts it just gets really difficult. Everything that becomes into your vision is a distraction. If it’s an exhibition, then of course some sort of interaction is good but if it’s an official match, I just don’t see it at all. I think it would be way too many distractions.”

Cambers: Let fans move, but only higher up

Cambers says fans moving during the point is something that already happens but it’s only OK if they’re out of the players’ sight.

“People talk anyway and players can handle that but if people are moving around, it’s just going to reduce quality,” he said. “I think some of the stadiums have it right, the middle layer of upwards let people move around, and that’s good. That makes a good atmosphere. I don’t think there’s any need to shake it up so close to the court. If someone’s moving in your eyeline when you’re on the move it really would distract from the product.”

Rothenberg: Fans should be able to move after every game

Rothenberg says he would rather change another aspect of the fan experience.

“I would change other things first,” he says. “Stadiums should let people in every game (not waiting for three games at the start of a set). Give them 30 seconds to find their seats. These are people who pay for their tickets, I don’t think it’s right to keep them waiting. I think it’s fairly specific parts of the stadium that are in the eyeline, so you can make it clear where people can move.”