“We’ve fallen behind”: Novak Djokovic discusses evolving tennis for younger fans

Djokovic advocates for changes in tennis, though he acknowledges that adapting to the new demands of the audience requires time. The 24-time Grand Slam champion recently advanced to the round of 16 at the Australian Open for the 16th time in his career after defeating Tomas Machac in straight sets.

The Serbian player was asked about potential changes in tennis, considering it is generally a traditional sport regarding its rules. Many have called for adjustments to attract younger generations as fans.

Djokovic supports innovation in tennis

The World No. 7 also weighed in on the recent controversy involving Danielle Collins, who faced boos from the crowd after blowing kisses to the stands and making sarcastic comments during her on-court interview following a victory over local favourite Destanee Aiava. Djokovic defended Collins’ actions, stating he is an admirer of the American and enjoyed her post-match comments, as they are not something often seen in tennis.

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A journalist then asked Djokovic if tennis should be less serious in response to such actions, prompting the Serbian to discuss how tennis can adapt to modern times and become more appealing to fans.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Yes and no. We have the history and tradition that we are proud of and makes our sport different from other sports, but at the same time, you know, I think we have been a little bit behind the other sports with changes and trying to keep the pace with the evolution of society and the new generation that we all know doesn’t have that much of a great attention span, and they want the movement.”

“So, for example, the last couple of years I think only that we have this new rule where people are able to come in even if it’s not a changeover. So I guess that’s one of the ways to really try to open up a bit more and not have strict rules.”

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Djokovic also mentioned that players need time to adapt to future changes due to the physical demands they face. “It’s not easy for players, I guess. I mean, from my side, not easy to go from one end to another extreme and just let everybody say whatever they want to say, talk, scream during the point.”

“So I feel with tennis it takes a little bit more time, but with NextGen Finals, which is a concept that I think is very positive for our sport, and I had my differences with Chris Kermode, our former president, but with NextGen Finals, I think it was a brilliant idea to test, you know, certain changes that we might want to implement on the tour level, highest tour level,” he concluded.

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Nole will return to the court this Sunday to face Czech player Jiri Lehecka, who is on an eight-match winning streak at the start of the season. The two have only met once before, with the Serbian emerging victorious 6-1, 6-7, 6-1 a year ago at the 2024 United Cup.

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