By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday March 23, 2023
Frances Tiafoe loves the bright lights and big city atmosphere of Arthur Ashe Stadium. And he wants to see more of the high-energy atmosphere on tour.
The American told Tim Newcombe of Forbes that he’d like to see tennis allow fans to move around during matches, and make some noise whenever they want to.
"I think fans should be able to come and go and move around and speak during matches," Tiafoe told Forbes in an interview. "Imagine going to a basketball game and not saying anything."
Tiafoe, who raised the roof in Queens last summer when he upset Rafael Nadal and went on to face Carlos Alcaraz in a dramatic US Open semifinal, says that some events may need to retain tradition, but as a whole, the sport would benefit from letting fans have a little more freedom at events.
“Let's start to change things to bring younger fans to the game," Tiafoe said.
Tiafoe has a point about letting fans move around a bit more. Fans that miss the start of any set are forced to wait three games, until the first timed changeover, which can be frustrating. It would be nicer to see fans file in earlier, so they didn’t have to miss half of a set.
Asked about Tiafoe’s comments, American Coco Gauff said his ideas would make it more fun for fans, but probably not the players – except for those who feel the way Tiafoe does.
“It's quite interesting what Frances said. I definitely think it would be more enjoyable for the fans, especially in the stadium, but I don't know how players would be able to do that,” she said.