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Tiafoe Says Tennis Fans Should Be Given More Freedom at Matches

Frances Tiafoe fields questions from the media during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 21, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Frances Tiafoe fields questions from the media during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 21, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Tiafoe Says Tennis Fans Should Be Given More Freedom at Matches

Frances Tiafoe fields questions from the media during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 21, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)
Frances Tiafoe fields questions from the media during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 21, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Getty Images/AFP)

American Frances Tiafoe said tennis should loosen its strict rules governing the behavior of fans attending matches to help attract a younger audience.

According to tennis etiquette, fans should not make any noise during points and should only move to and from their seats when players take a break during the change of ends.

"I think fans should be able to come and go and move around and speak during matches," Tiafoe told Forbes.

"Imagine going to a basketball game and not saying anything."

Tiafoe told the magazine that certain events like Wimbledon should retain some tradition but "outside that, let's start to change things to bring younger fans to the game."

At last year's US Open, Tiafoe electrified the New York crowd during his win over Rafa Nadal in the last 16 en route to reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final.

There he further endeared himself to the fans when he battled eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz for five sets in front of a sold-out crowd that included former First Lady Michelle Obama.

It is no surprise then that the 25-year-old from Maryland said the comparatively rowdy atmosphere at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows makes it his favorite court to play on.

"There's nothing like Arthur Ashe at night," said Tiafoe, who will be in action on Friday in the Miami Open.

"Arthur Ashe period, but Arthur Ashe at night. New York at night, everyone's loud and the atmosphere, it's crazy."

Fellow American and world number three Jessica Pegula said she liked Tiafoe's "positive" ideas but there had to be checks to ensure players are not disturbed.

"You can't have people shouting in the middle of a point necessarily, but maybe if the movement was less restrictive, I don't think it's that big of a deal," Pegula said.

"But then, you open yourself up to things that could happen where it does maybe cause hindrances throughout the play and it really affects the players.

"He loves the NBA and goes to games. It's like constant chatter between the players and the people sitting on the court. There's a lot of movement, music.

"I think we have to implement some of those things. We have to fit it to our sport, but the idea is there. Maybe just fine-tuning it."

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Swiatek Moves Into 3rd-round Match against Raducanu at Australian Open

Iga Swiatek of Poland in action during her round 2 match against Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia for the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2025. EPA/LUKAS COCH
Iga Swiatek of Poland in action during her round 2 match against Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia for the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2025. EPA/LUKAS COCH
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Swiatek Moves Into 3rd-round Match against Raducanu at Australian Open

Iga Swiatek of Poland in action during her round 2 match against Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia for the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2025. EPA/LUKAS COCH
Iga Swiatek of Poland in action during her round 2 match against Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia for the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2025. EPA/LUKAS COCH

Iga Swiatek rushed through the first set in 26 minutes and completed her 6-0, 6-2 second-round win over Rebecca Sramkova in an hour at the Australian Open.
The five-time Grand Slam champion makes a habit of advancing quickly through the early rounds at the majors. She’s won almost 12% of her sets in Grand Slams by 6-0, which puts her in exclusive company.
So when No. 49-ranked Sramkova ended a seven-game losing run by holding serve on Thursday, she raised her arm to acknowledge the applause from the Rod Laver Arena crowd. It was one of the few chances she had to celebrate.
“It was good to play in such an efficient way and just finish it quick,” Swiatek said. “Also, you know, just feel the court and how it is in RLA.”
Second-seeded Swiatek next faces 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who recovered from an early break in the second set to hold off Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5, The Associated Press reported.
Taylor Fritz hasn't wasted any time advancing to the third round, dropping just eight games across two rounds and spending just over three hours on court.
The 2024 US Open runner-up and No. 4 seed beat Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 to move into a third-round match against 38-year-old Gael Monfils, who last week became the oldest player to win an ATP Tour title.
Also advancing on the men's side were local hope Alex de Minaur, seeded 8th, No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti, No. 19 Karen Khachanov and No. 21 Ben Shelton, who beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4.
Raducanu has struggled with injuries since her breakthrough major in 2021, when she became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles title.
She didn't play a warmup tournament ahead of this year's Australian Open because of a muscle strain and needed time during her match against Anisimova to get treatment on her back from a trainer.
After advancing beyond the second round for the first time at Melbourne Park, the No. 61-ranked Raducanu was confident she'd recover in time for her next challenge against Swiatek.
“It’ll be a very good match for me, another opportunity to test my game,” she said. "Going into it, I have nothing to lose. I’m just going to swing."
Swiatek is moving on from the doping infringement which led to her one-month ban last year. And she's not showing any signs of it being a distraction.
She did everything at pace in the second round, including quick claps of her racket to acknowledge the crowd after her win. Swiatek didn't face a break point against Sramkova and converted five of the six she had. She finished off points with winners off both sides, and also hit some clean volleys on her ventures to the net.
She's feeling slightly less pressure this year, too, after losing the No. 1 ranking to two-time defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.
“Yeah, there was a lot of pressure starting the year as No. 1, but I think overall last year I didn’t think about it this much anyway," she said. “Also, I realized last year that I don’t have 100% influence on what happens with my ranking sometimes. So now I just focus on tennis.”
Emma Navarro, a US Open semifinalist last year and seeded in the top eight for the first time at a major, was in trouble after two service breaks early in the third set before she reeled off four straight games to beat Wang Xiyu 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
She hopped from the baseline toward the net, and made a big, swirling swing of her arm to underline another tough, three-set victory.
“It was really tough the whole time ... super tough there at the end,” Navarro said. “Found some good tennis there in the last games.”
She'll next play Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, who struggled with asthma but held off Camila Osorio 7-5, 6-3.
Sixth-seeded Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and runner-up in Australia two years ago, registered her 50th win in a Grand Slam main draw singles match when she beat American qualifier Iva Jovic 6-0, 6-3.
No. 9 Daria Kasatkina also advanced 6-2, 6-0 over Wang Yafan and faces No. 24 Yulia Putintseva in the third round.