Australian Open’s wild, boozy party court is latest attempt to tackle new age

The Australian Open is the latest global sporting event attempting to appeal to a new generation of fans whose attention is rarely focused on the competition at hand – but droves of athletes have already voiced their displeasure towards the tournament changes.

In the lead-up to the 2024 Australian Open, a two-story courtside bar was built at Court 6 with onlookers hardly needing to leave their seat in order to get a drink. While the easy access to alcohol has been well received by rowdy revelers in the stands, tennis players down below hold a far different opinion of what’s infamously known as the “party court.”

On Wednesday, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina were forced to evacuate Court 8 mid-match due to the distracting racket coming from the party court, which a raucous French crowd descended upon to watch Arthur Cazaux face off against Britain’s Jacob Fearnley.

Cazaux’s fellow countryman, Arthur Rinderknech, described Court 6 as a “nightclub” after having to deal with the boisterous crowd during a grueling five-hour match that ended in defeat. “Some stupid – I won’t even say the country – guys that were drunk were shouting at me every time I was missing my first serve, and I don’t think that’s really correct. Only in the fifth [set],” he said.

The party court was far from the only disorderly conduct present at Melbourne Park. On the heels of losing 4-6 6-0 6-2 to Donna Vekic at Court 14, Harriet Dart likened the atmosphere to a soccer game. I felt like I was at a football match. Obviously, it’s great to have lots of people there watching and everything, but I also think there has to be respect towards both players,” she said.

“I think a few people were about to be kicked out. I can only really compare it to the Billie Jean King Cup and I don’t even think I’ve had it be like that before.

“I think [the umpire] did as best as she could – maybe there should be a stricter policy in terms of if people are doing something, if they do it more than once they are out, but I don’t make those rules.”

The unruly incidents seen at this year’s Australian Open are indicative of a worrying trend impacting the world of sports. Respectful customs and time-honored traditions that’re no longer of interest in the new age are tossed to the side – replaced instead by bars, DJs and whatever else organizers think will keep fans entertained.

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In LIV Golf, Greg Norman has introduced ‘The Party Hole’ – an area that features live music, drinking and activities – at the circuit’s events in Nashville, Adelaide and the United Kingdom. The 16th hole at the PGA Tour’s WM Phoenix Open, meanwhile, is engulfed by 20,000 fans who routinely scream their hearts out and rain beer cans down onto the green.

Perhaps the party-like environments spreading across golf and tennis are resulting from fans’ shrinking attention spans on the game being played. MLB, for one, launched the 30-second pitch timer in 2023 to speed up the pace of play.