Australian Open’s Efforts to Attract More Fans Irking Some Players

As the Australian Open moves into second-round play, the first Grand Slam of 2024 is already on pace to break the attendance record it set last year.

With the first two days of tennis in Melbourne attracting more than 169,000 fans, this year’s pace could easily see the tournament close in on 1 million total fans. In 2023, an all-time tournament high of 839,192 spectators watched the Australian Open in person.

But some new offerings that may be contributing to the added attraction are not sitting well with players. This year, Court 6 at Melbourne Park features a two-story, courtside bar that can house 400 people, and the atmosphere is noticeably more raucous than normal. “The DJ and stuff… it was somewhere in my subconscious where I could feel the movement and all that kind of action going on in the background,” said Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No. 7 singles player in the world, after he lost his opening round doubles match at the court. “I’m not a huge fan of it.”

Meanwhile, a new seating policy that allows fans to enter the stands more frequently during play has also become controversial. Top-ranked Novak Djokovic said he was divided about whether the rule change is good or not. “I did not know about that new policy, or new rule,” he said after his first-round victory. “I understand the motive behind it is to enhance and improve the experience for fans.”

The Longest Grand Slam Ever?

An expansion of the Australian Open from 14 to 15 days is no doubt helping total attendance projections this year. In fact, moving the tournament’s start from Monday to Sunday has been so popular that a report in the Melbourne Age suggested that sponsors and stakeholders are already backing the idea of adding a 16th day, if it were to start on a Saturday in 2025.

The French Open is the only other Grand Slam to run across 15 days, as the U.S. Open and Wimbledon are 14-day events.