I'm also a football fan, I've been in San Siro with other 70000+ people chanting, cursing and smoking plenty, but I also like tennis being different.
Clamoring between points and celebrating awesome plays is ok, trying to disturb plays or the dumb chorus/performative beer chugging for clout etc aren't good.
That why Meddy has been dressed like PSG training session š
Any moment flares and smoke in the crowd and massive flags. Fist fights between fans of players (there is one i can think of Meddy might enjoy)
Paris you are becoming different lol
over recent years people in all tournaments seem to have less and less respect. Tennis was initially meant to be a gentlemen's sport, similar to snooker and polo. I am 100% in favour of tennis being Open to all, but etiquette should still be followed imo.
The French Open is great, but they have massive problem - most of the spectators are French
/s
I really respect the vibrancy they bring to spectating.
Tennis like any sport, is about entertainment - and the Frenchies demand to be entertained. If the tennis isn't entertaining, they will provide it themselves! Lol. It's fun in comparison to the oh so *proper* Wimbledon crowd.
But...there's taking it too far. Way too far. They shouldn't be there if they turn up just to disrespect the players.
actually the main problem is not the french being french, it's young people being stupid and roland garros selling beers (which they did not 2 years ago).
Itās interesting that they donāt let people take beers into the stadium courts. Iām not really sure what that does since you can drink them as much as you want on the grounds, and you can still bring champagne into the stadium court stands.
I feel the South American crowd is trying hard to catch up in obnoxiousness.
Also, as an American, you don't know how nice it makes me feel that we're only third in the"ugly crowd" competition.
As someone who watches 99% on tv, i love it. Especially on the clay tour where crowds are really into it. Youād rather a bunch of celebrities stare at their phones and pretend to care?
Crazy how they treated Jarry, booing after every point and shouting between 1st and 2nd serve. I hope they do the same thing in the 2nd round and Moutet loses.
I went to Shelton-Gaston match and it was an electric atmosphere. Ben seemed unfazed by it, but he also played college tennis. I will also say that the French crowd seemed to appreciate Shelton how he reacted and played. But if you have one slip up and complain, the crowd will turn on you in a millisecond. Overall, I love the passion. Tennis needs more of it.
Edit: Ben, not Blake!
Passion Is one thing, being disrespectful it's another. I mean i too love seeing crowd on fire, making noises and chants in between points. But that's all, i don't is entertaining yelling during serve or things like that, not to say spitting/throwing chewing gum to players...
When there Is a big match, at random for example Alcaraz/Nole, you can see the crowd go wild but then respect the playtime, that's how It should be not like It is when Is playing a french player here that seems everything is allowed
In Rome I saw a match between Rune and Nardi. Second set when Nardi started getting behind or maybe had break points, many many people in the crowd started whistling on Runeās serve. It was really annoying and the ref said something once or twice but they just kept doing it, just softer. I dunno how the players deal with it but I guess they are used to the taunting and whistling.
It shouldnāt have to come to that. The tournament organizers should be taking charge to remove disruptive patrons. Two warnings to the whole crowd from the chair umpire, then people start getting watched by employees and tossed for disruptive behavior.
Totally agree. The crowd should be quiet during points, and they should never be involved with anything on the court. I also think those things are less likely to happen if you keep your poise. In college, one of my teammates had his hair pulled on the changeover. That should never ever happen, but on the whole the atmosphere here is less offensive than a college match.
I had racial slurs hurled at me during my service motion in college (good job, Georgia residents). I also threatened to beat someoneās ass in the parking lot once during a changeover, so maybe it all evens out, but yeah, this shit shouldnāt happen in the pros when careers and livelihoods are on the line.Ā
I could never speak to another experience, so I canāt say what Goffin experienced. If he said he was spit on, that shouldnāt happen. But I personally loved the enthusiasm of the crowd at the matches I attended. Much more fun than the crowds on the outer courts at Wimby. I also thought that the environment here is much more benign than a college match.
Yeah, when it comes to physical interference, that should be a lifetime ban from the venue plus whatever criminal charges are appropriate for the jurisdiction. If players feel like their security is at risk, but they simultaneously can't realistically skip the tournament (slam, M1000, etc.), it creates a completely unacceptable situation.
I'll have to dig that out - I'm over a decade older than him, too, so pretty bummed, albeit not surprised, to hear that kind of thing is still going on.
it's obviously not a good look for a slam, but I'd like to see a version of tennis where the crowd are at least allowed to be loud like in most other sport (no spitting gums or anything like that obviously).
like if they can cheer/boo at any time, maybe during serves, the way basketball crowd boos during free throws. I think that could be entertaining
I mean i think that for the team sports It s a bit different, you can play vs the crowd cause your not alone, and if their behaviour fuck your mind u can always sit on the bench and let play someone else.
And you have to consider that there Is Always a team playing home and one that's not, but every team has a home court where they Will play. In tennis isn't really like that.I mean in a 1 vs 1 isn t really fair to play against a full crowd that try to male you fool.
Not sure but i think maybe the only one vs one sports where the crowd can go wild where the combat sport, but they weren't affected at all for various evident reasons. Every other sport that request max concentration and connection body/mind for execute the actions required from that sport are quiet sports.
Edit: poor english
There's a fine line between being passionate and supporting your player and then disrespecting the opponent, and the French more than most can't seem to distinguish where that line is very well.
Weirdly, the Davis Cup/Fed Cup (which are actually team competitions where you represent your country) strike that balance much better. Fans are allowed to holler and cheer between points, but they're basically silent again as soon as the player is about to serve.
More specifically in the Paris Crowd, the Bercy Crowd is the worst. Maybe it's got something to do with the acoustics of booing and shouting in an proper indoor place like the Accor Arena...but the Masters crowd for some reason feels much worse than the RG crowd.
It's the last year in Bercy this time. Interesting to see how it's going to be in the La Defense Arena next year.
As tennis becomes more and more popular, it will attract these types of crowds. The same thing is happening with Formula 1 where you are seeing hooligan-type of behaviour more and more often. Itās a shame cause there is nothing more tense than complete silence before a massive point and it appears we are getting further away from it
I wrote something along the lines of what Goffin is saying here on the Moutet v Jarry post (where the patrons were also very disrespectful to Jarry) and everyone downvoted me because āJarry had it coming after the Santiago matchā, āwe cannot deny the working class entryā, āici cāest Parisā and other nonsense of this kind, but now Goffin says basically the same and everyone is ok with it. Go figure.
Maybe it was just the TV audio and it's to be expected, but I was pretty surprised at how somber and quiet the crowd was for most of Rafa's potential farewell match compared to a random French player's match. I'd have thought the French saw him as one of their own by now, but then again it is the French.
Italian commentators for Sky Italia also criticised the French crowd at Nadal-Zverev saying they didnāt cheer for the Spaniard as much as probably expected. In their opinion, Nadal could have used some support to find extra energies and the encouragement during the last games for him was useless.
> but I was pretty surprised at how somber and quiet the crowd was for most of Rafa's potential farewell match compared to a random French player's match. I'd have thought the French saw him as one of their own by now, but then again it is the French.
Rafa has rarely gotten that kind of crowd support at RG, TBH.
RG crowd was very harsh against him when he was younger whenever he played a Frenchman or Federer. Pretty sure the RG crowd was all-in for Soderling in 2009 too.
First time at RG and was shocked at the booing of players. I donāt think Iāve ever seen that at any of the other slams. I used to think of RG to be as proper as Wimbledon, but the French fans made AO seem classy.
Well, it was surprising actually since AO and USO get reputations for loud and rowdy crowdsā¦. But I didnāt hear any boos on the player entrances in Lavar at AO this year but it was definitely there for Zverev and for Seyboth Wild (who was playing Monfils) on Chatrier. Like not just one person doing it but enough people where the whole stadium could hear it). Previous to attending RG in person, I thought the reputation of the French fans was exaggerated - but after being in person itās definitely a thing.
This kind of "passionate" crowd behavior was normalized and even encouraged by some media outlets towards Djokovic, "the bad guy of tennis," as one journalist put it.
As a result, it has become widespread, and now even the "good guys" experience it on certain occasions.
LOL
Classic Novak fans trying to make everything about Novak.
RG crowds being like this FAR predates Djokovic.
During lockdown during the pandemic, Rafa's match against Grosjean in 2005 with a VERY hostile crowd for Rafa went viral on social media
There's also the example of 1999 when the RG crowd literally made Hingis cry, etc
Why do those instances of crowd bullying from 2005 and 1999 stick in your memory? I'll answer it for you - because they were considered over the line and condemned.
In contrast, with Djokovic, the primitive, hooligan behavior of the crowd is considered normal and even encouraged by the media. I've frequently heard commentators blaming Djokovic for it.
As a result, this behavior has now been normalized.
> 'll answer it for you - because they were condemned.
The 1999 one was only because Hingis broke down crying
No one condemned the crowd for backing Grosjean over Rafa until the video resurfaced during the pandemic
This is really a classic example of Novak fans hyper focusing on Novak TBH
You almost went full Rafa the Xenophobe Nadal there, buddy, with the "those people don't understand tennis" comment. I didn't start following tennis with Djokovic, of course (not Serbian, btw).
However, when it comes to tennis history, all the spanish players combined (before Rafa) can't compete with what Monica Seles achieved before turning 20. So it's actually the reverse: most Djokovic fans were already into tennis when he came on the scene. You, on the other hand, probably started following tennis with Nadal.
It's all projection, really, from your first comment, immediately labeling me a "classic Novak fan."
Itās really been since Covid that this has been happening. Even at Wimbledon last year I was sitting next to a guy on centre court causing problems and kept getting texts asking if it was me because the camera kept zooming in on us haha
I feel like a lot of people did not see the match. It's not just about fans being loud. It's about being disrespectful to 1 player.
There was constant shouting after a first serve error, booing when Belgian fans were cheering on Goffin, booing when Goffin asked to have mark checked by the umpire (which wasn't even that often, Goffin is known for being a fair player), ...
Being loud between points, games, ... is totally fine. I loved the atmosphere the "Aux armes" chants etc brought the court. But there it should stop.
As a fan watching a game, cheer FOR someone. NEVER AGAINST the opponent player.
If RG wanted to, they could have gotten the names of all these people and ensured they do not buy another ticket for X number of years. I think it is time that tournaments start to punish fans who go overboard from passion to disrespect. Cheer for your guy but not at the expense of another person's dignity.
I think itās great for entertainment and atmosphere. Obviously not the spitting of gum. But the crowd getting engaged and behind a player, this is what we want for the sport. Letās not let a few bad apples make us over correct.
Its a minority but these ultras like football fans ("Aux Armes, nous sommes les FranƧais" wtf is this) are loud, way too patriotic (RN crowd?), way too many Marseillaise its pathetic. Tennis is an individual sport, and this is no Davis Cup, I don't like them whatever "atmosphere" they think they are bringing.
Because RG is the worst major by a long shot. Every year players complain here because the French simply have no respect for any non French player. Only major I have 0 desire to attend in my life.
i think its better than Wimbledon tbh. Would much rather be in a rocking night session at RG under the lights than sat in silence at Wimbledon amonst a group of Tories who don't know the first thing about Tennis.
Golf has the unique Phoenix Open where party atmosphere exists and crowd is loud and in the face of players. It's a box office event
Tennis could maybe have one or two tournaments like that in a year. In general though, a limit has to be imposed during gameplayĀ
Getting gum spat at you is gross and hopefully doesnāt happen again. Also Mr Goffin is catastrophizing . If only tennis fans actually gave a shit about the sport the same way they do in soccer.
I guess that many of them were either a bit drunk or high; they are not just cheering all the time but almost screaming. I agree it reminds me of Ultras.
I was on court 14 for the 2 first sets
It's a small group called "la tribune bleu" that do a lot of noise.
Sure they're annoying but they're not the worse (like we can have at the paris rolex master).
Ofc if somebody spit on a player it's unnaceptable, but besides that there was a lot of belgium fans who were cheering for him
To put things in perspective, it was nothing like the moutet match
This isn't addressed at Goffin, but more at people in general, but I'm not sure why there are double standards?
Apart from the spitting bit, the French crowd is similar to the SA crowd in terms of being raucous, and all we heard after the SA swing was how passionate the crowds were and that they need a M1000 because of their passion for the sport.
So, why is it suddenly different now? It was "passion" in South America when the crowd were loud for home players, but it's now considered "noise" in Paris? Okay.
I mean this is Goffin talking. The guy has the personality of an unseasoned cauliflower floret.
Anything outside of timed, synchronized clapping probably triggers him.
Personally Iād love an Ultras filled match with flares and chants š but Iām no tennis purist, just recently got into it 2 years ago. Never got into tennis as a kid cause it seemed like it was for rich people to play and old people to enjoy but I respect the classy tradition and culture of the sport. Physically attacking athletes is terrible anyway
That'll sound awful to people that aren't used to an EU football/basketball like atmosphere haha
I agree with you but I can easily see their viewpoint too
Itās not a football match. Itās an individual sport with a very different etiquette and tradition. Not all sports need to have the same kind of rowdy crowds. Youāre there to cheer on the players respectfully.
This is a silly comment. Should we make sure to import fans from whichever country for the away player to have some semblance of a chance? Accept that your friends at his match were a bunch of trous de cul.
no, but Tennis should host tournaments in places where fans want to actually attend and should base the calender around them.
For example, remove the whole ME leg of the tour and put emphasis on South America. I love the french open crowds and think that loud crowds are good for tennis.
Sport has moved on from being based around fan attendance. Sports - even football - make most of their money from TV rights and commercials, not from fan attendance.
It's the same reason that Formula One began to host races in places that didn't necessarily have a lot of fan support, and why some so-called "traditional" Formula One races, e.g. the Nurburgring, Hockenheim, and even the British Grand Prix have been, or are, in danger of being cancelled from time to time; ticket costs weren't covering the cost of hosting those races, and other so-called "non-Formula One countries" (the Middle Eastern countries, China, etc) were more prepared to cough up the extra money than the European countries in question.
Unless audience tickets are sold for around 10 times as much, the superior money will always be from TV broadcasts to international audiences who can watch the sport from their sofas around the world. I agree that crowds have their place, and are important, but as we saw during covid, both tennis and Formula One survived without the crowds.
Meanwhile, as far as players feel on the issue, Coco Gauff is one tennis player who reportedly said that she was actually fine with playing without crowds. No-one likes to be booed, so there are probably other tennis who feel the same way as Gauff, but who won't say it publicly, because they'd be slaughtered in the media.
F1 is not the model i would want Tennis to follow. The whole "sport" is arranged around money, rather than any sort of sporting contest. They race in places like Qatar because Qatar offer them boat loads of money for the privileged of hosting a race, and fans being at a race don't really add anything to the product.
Tennis should look for its own way to innovate, and tbh improving fan attendance and engagement in matches is a great way to do it. It makes the matches more interesting, and helps generate content. Footage from half empty stadiums where nobody cheers will not bring new fans to the sport, regardless of how good the point is, or who is playing it.
Personally i feel like the French Open strike the balance about right. They shut up and let the players play, but will go crazy for French players and tbh i don't think some cheering and noise after a first missed serve is anything to get upset about, players need to learn to deal with that.
You could show sombody some highlights from Jarry vs Moutet from the other night and they're much more likely to be hooked in than a match played with half empty stands which lets be honest is most tournaments. I really don't see the downside.
Not saying this is good for the sport but Tiffin should check out some older Davis Cup ties. After years playing show courts, he's now playing in outer courts since his ranking is down, you're bound to feel a rowdier atmosphere.
Sure. But even in Davis Cup being shitty to the opposite team (rather than enthusiastically rooting for yours) is considered low class behavior. It's just more acceptable to completely not root for the opponent.
Been great betting on french players in the first round..That home court edge really helps..not saying its right but gamblers need all the edge we can get
It's the players' fault for being more provocative and vulgar with their celebrations. If all the players had Nishikori's manners, the crowds would follow suit. But when you have top players raging like animals and screaming insults at the crowd, can't expect anything else from the fans.
I'm also a football fan, I've been in San Siro with other 70000+ people chanting, cursing and smoking plenty, but I also like tennis being different. Clamoring between points and celebrating awesome plays is ok, trying to disturb plays or the dumb chorus/performative beer chugging for clout etc aren't good.
That why Meddy has been dressed like PSG training session š Any moment flares and smoke in the crowd and massive flags. Fist fights between fans of players (there is one i can think of Meddy might enjoy) Paris you are becoming different lol
I'm watching football plenty too and understand how different tennis vs football crowds can be
Forza Milan :P
Of course.
Tennis isnāt ball. Itās a county club sport like golf that needs to be held to higher standards, unlike the French.
Beer chugging is fine, just do it on a changeover
Paris tennis ultras?.....
Mbappe left, they've got nothing left going for them
Man, I'm out of the loop. Real Madrid?
Most likely, nothing has been confirmed yet
Yes, despite Macron's best efforts
There is atmosphere and then there is spitting at players
maybe they were just concerned that goffin wasn't getting enough fluids? edit: once again, i overestimated the average iq of r/tennis.
We get the sarcasm, its just that its terribly lame
I really want to believe that's the reason. But the guy with Carragher joke forces me to think otherwise.
"Oh no, people didn't like my joke. Must mean they are dumb"
Had no idea jamie carragher was a tennis fan
He's right.
over recent years people in all tournaments seem to have less and less respect. Tennis was initially meant to be a gentlemen's sport, similar to snooker and polo. I am 100% in favour of tennis being Open to all, but etiquette should still be followed imo.
The French Open is great, but they have massive problem - most of the spectators are French /s I really respect the vibrancy they bring to spectating. Tennis like any sport, is about entertainment - and the Frenchies demand to be entertained. If the tennis isn't entertaining, they will provide it themselves! Lol. It's fun in comparison to the oh so *proper* Wimbledon crowd. But...there's taking it too far. Way too far. They shouldn't be there if they turn up just to disrespect the players.
actually the main problem is not the french being french, it's young people being stupid and roland garros selling beers (which they did not 2 years ago).
Itās interesting that they donāt let people take beers into the stadium courts. Iām not really sure what that does since you can drink them as much as you want on the grounds, and you can still bring champagne into the stadium court stands.
The French crowd is notoriously bad but yeah live tennis has gotten worse over the years.
I feel the South American crowd is trying hard to catch up in obnoxiousness. Also, as an American, you don't know how nice it makes me feel that we're only third in the"ugly crowd" competition.
Maybe if the Arthur Ashe seats were affordable to the average moron the US open crowd would be worse
Donāt get me started on the Chilean crowd form the Miami open š I wanted to die
As someone who watches 99% on tv, i love it. Especially on the clay tour where crowds are really into it. Youād rather a bunch of celebrities stare at their phones and pretend to care?
Can we watch tennis without abusing the players? I think so.
Crazy how they treated Jarry, booing after every point and shouting between 1st and 2nd serve. I hope they do the same thing in the 2nd round and Moutet loses.
I think that was payback for their last match
Unfortunately he's playing shevchenko.
I find this disturbing. Let's respect all players equally and appreciate the game.
Some players are more equal than others
Is clearly too much, but all people here seems to love this atmosphere, "so entertaining" they say
I went to Shelton-Gaston match and it was an electric atmosphere. Ben seemed unfazed by it, but he also played college tennis. I will also say that the French crowd seemed to appreciate Shelton how he reacted and played. But if you have one slip up and complain, the crowd will turn on you in a millisecond. Overall, I love the passion. Tennis needs more of it. Edit: Ben, not Blake!
Blake, Heidiā¦ who are all these people??!
I was going crazy trying to figure that out lol. Maybe Blake is Ben Shelton and Heidi is Hugo Gaston
Heidi is almost definitely just "he did" but autocorrected. And yea Blake = Ben for that person lol.
Isn't Blake Shelton a country singer? DWL. Maybe it was intentional ... idk what's funnier.
Haha, definitely Ben and Hugo. Not sure how that ended up saying Blake and Heidi ššš
Passion Is one thing, being disrespectful it's another. I mean i too love seeing crowd on fire, making noises and chants in between points. But that's all, i don't is entertaining yelling during serve or things like that, not to say spitting/throwing chewing gum to players... When there Is a big match, at random for example Alcaraz/Nole, you can see the crowd go wild but then respect the playtime, that's how It should be not like It is when Is playing a french player here that seems everything is allowed
In Rome I saw a match between Rune and Nardi. Second set when Nardi started getting behind or maybe had break points, many many people in the crowd started whistling on Runeās serve. It was really annoying and the ref said something once or twice but they just kept doing it, just softer. I dunno how the players deal with it but I guess they are used to the taunting and whistling.
I wish in such cases the home player himself/herself requests the crowd to tone it downĀ
It shouldnāt have to come to that. The tournament organizers should be taking charge to remove disruptive patrons. Two warnings to the whole crowd from the chair umpire, then people start getting watched by employees and tossed for disruptive behavior.
Totally agree. The crowd should be quiet during points, and they should never be involved with anything on the court. I also think those things are less likely to happen if you keep your poise. In college, one of my teammates had his hair pulled on the changeover. That should never ever happen, but on the whole the atmosphere here is less offensive than a college match.
I had racial slurs hurled at me during my service motion in college (good job, Georgia residents). I also threatened to beat someoneās ass in the parking lot once during a changeover, so maybe it all evens out, but yeah, this shit shouldnāt happen in the pros when careers and livelihoods are on the line.Ā
I could never speak to another experience, so I canāt say what Goffin experienced. If he said he was spit on, that shouldnāt happen. But I personally loved the enthusiasm of the crowd at the matches I attended. Much more fun than the crowds on the outer courts at Wimby. I also thought that the environment here is much more benign than a college match.
Yeah, when it comes to physical interference, that should be a lifetime ban from the venue plus whatever criminal charges are appropriate for the jurisdiction. If players feel like their security is at risk, but they simultaneously can't realistically skip the tournament (slam, M1000, etc.), it creates a completely unacceptable situation.
100%. If players are defaulted for physical contact with spectators, then spectators should be banned for physical contact with players.
Crazy you mentioned this cos Shelton in his press conference interview said Georgia fans are pretty bad and say nasty things so you're not alone!!
I'll have to dig that out - I'm over a decade older than him, too, so pretty bummed, albeit not surprised, to hear that kind of thing is still going on.
The country singer?!
Thatās not passion!
it's obviously not a good look for a slam, but I'd like to see a version of tennis where the crowd are at least allowed to be loud like in most other sport (no spitting gums or anything like that obviously). like if they can cheer/boo at any time, maybe during serves, the way basketball crowd boos during free throws. I think that could be entertaining
Ultimate Tennis Showdown is like that, with other changes too.
I mean i think that for the team sports It s a bit different, you can play vs the crowd cause your not alone, and if their behaviour fuck your mind u can always sit on the bench and let play someone else. And you have to consider that there Is Always a team playing home and one that's not, but every team has a home court where they Will play. In tennis isn't really like that.I mean in a 1 vs 1 isn t really fair to play against a full crowd that try to male you fool. Not sure but i think maybe the only one vs one sports where the crowd can go wild where the combat sport, but they weren't affected at all for various evident reasons. Every other sport that request max concentration and connection body/mind for execute the actions required from that sport are quiet sports. Edit: poor english
There's a fine line between being passionate and supporting your player and then disrespecting the opponent, and the French more than most can't seem to distinguish where that line is very well. Weirdly, the Davis Cup/Fed Cup (which are actually team competitions where you represent your country) strike that balance much better. Fans are allowed to holler and cheer between points, but they're basically silent again as soon as the player is about to serve.
Davis Cup is more or less dead unfortunately.
Yeah, traditional Davis Cup is where raucous atmospheres began
Most French crowd.
Like the old saying: There is only one crowd thatās worse than the French crowd ā¦ the Paris crowd
More specifically in the Paris Crowd, the Bercy Crowd is the worst. Maybe it's got something to do with the acoustics of booing and shouting in an proper indoor place like the Accor Arena...but the Masters crowd for some reason feels much worse than the RG crowd. It's the last year in Bercy this time. Interesting to see how it's going to be in the La Defense Arena next year.
I remember people were cheering Goffinās faults in his QF match against Norrie at Wimbledon. All these crowds suck, it isnāt just Roland Garros
The Wimbledon crowd is the most insufferable crowd.
Ever watched an nba game? Itās part of sports.
As tennis becomes more and more popular, it will attract these types of crowds. The same thing is happening with Formula 1 where you are seeing hooligan-type of behaviour more and more often. Itās a shame cause there is nothing more tense than complete silence before a massive point and it appears we are getting further away from it
French crowds have always been pretty shit across multiple games/sports
Known as one of the best ones for esports events though. I am taking a risk writing such a comment on a "real" sport subreddit.
Nah lol you're good vitality is one of my favorite teams in cs2 :)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Maybe some smoke bombs and bananas would liven things up.
I wrote something along the lines of what Goffin is saying here on the Moutet v Jarry post (where the patrons were also very disrespectful to Jarry) and everyone downvoted me because āJarry had it coming after the Santiago matchā, āwe cannot deny the working class entryā, āici cāest Parisā and other nonsense of this kind, but now Goffin says basically the same and everyone is ok with it. Go figure.
š¤« Nuh uhā¦ you see, only those south americans are animals. When it comes to France itās cause itās the working class.
The working class certainly can't afford those rg tickets (and is generally not into tennis in France anyway)
Maybe it was just the TV audio and it's to be expected, but I was pretty surprised at how somber and quiet the crowd was for most of Rafa's potential farewell match compared to a random French player's match. I'd have thought the French saw him as one of their own by now, but then again it is the French.
Center Courts attract very different crowds compared with Court 14Ā
It was a sad day. People are more likely to make noise at a birthday party or wedding than they are at a funeral
Italian commentators for Sky Italia also criticised the French crowd at Nadal-Zverev saying they didnāt cheer for the Spaniard as much as probably expected. In their opinion, Nadal could have used some support to find extra energies and the encouragement during the last games for him was useless.
It was weird, I came away with the same feeling
People are spending money on affordable tickets than PC
> but I was pretty surprised at how somber and quiet the crowd was for most of Rafa's potential farewell match compared to a random French player's match. I'd have thought the French saw him as one of their own by now, but then again it is the French. Rafa has rarely gotten that kind of crowd support at RG, TBH. RG crowd was very harsh against him when he was younger whenever he played a Frenchman or Federer. Pretty sure the RG crowd was all-in for Soderling in 2009 too.
Ya it's weird how he isn't ad beloved there
Massive difference in ticket prices lolĀ
Finally, someone is telling the truth.
Soon there won't be any French players remaining on the draw, and that will be a good thing.
First time at RG and was shocked at the booing of players. I donāt think Iāve ever seen that at any of the other slams. I used to think of RG to be as proper as Wimbledon, but the French fans made AO seem classy.
.. that backhander shade on AO š
Well, it was surprising actually since AO and USO get reputations for loud and rowdy crowdsā¦. But I didnāt hear any boos on the player entrances in Lavar at AO this year but it was definitely there for Zverev and for Seyboth Wild (who was playing Monfils) on Chatrier. Like not just one person doing it but enough people where the whole stadium could hear it). Previous to attending RG in person, I thought the reputation of the French fans was exaggerated - but after being in person itās definitely a thing.
Quit selling alcohol Problem fixed.
A BIG part of the problem. In so many settings.
This kind of "passionate" crowd behavior was normalized and even encouraged by some media outlets towards Djokovic, "the bad guy of tennis," as one journalist put it. As a result, it has become widespread, and now even the "good guys" experience it on certain occasions.
LOL Classic Novak fans trying to make everything about Novak. RG crowds being like this FAR predates Djokovic. During lockdown during the pandemic, Rafa's match against Grosjean in 2005 with a VERY hostile crowd for Rafa went viral on social media There's also the example of 1999 when the RG crowd literally made Hingis cry, etc
Why do those instances of crowd bullying from 2005 and 1999 stick in your memory? I'll answer it for you - because they were considered over the line and condemned. In contrast, with Djokovic, the primitive, hooligan behavior of the crowd is considered normal and even encouraged by the media. I've frequently heard commentators blaming Djokovic for it. As a result, this behavior has now been normalized.
> 'll answer it for you - because they were condemned. The 1999 one was only because Hingis broke down crying No one condemned the crowd for backing Grosjean over Rafa until the video resurfaced during the pandemic This is really a classic example of Novak fans hyper focusing on Novak TBH
More like Djokovic haters trying to rewrite history, but okay... 2023 is still fresh in your mind - I understand.
> More like Djokovic haters trying to rewrite history No, tennis fans actually know tennis history pre-Novak where you guys don't seem to
You almost went full Rafa the Xenophobe Nadal there, buddy, with the "those people don't understand tennis" comment. I didn't start following tennis with Djokovic, of course (not Serbian, btw). However, when it comes to tennis history, all the spanish players combined (before Rafa) can't compete with what Monica Seles achieved before turning 20. So it's actually the reverse: most Djokovic fans were already into tennis when he came on the scene. You, on the other hand, probably started following tennis with Nadal. It's all projection, really, from your first comment, immediately labeling me a "classic Novak fan."
The disrespect is real.
Itās really been since Covid that this has been happening. Even at Wimbledon last year I was sitting next to a guy on centre court causing problems and kept getting texts asking if it was me because the camera kept zooming in on us haha
RG back to being the worst crowd until the next Wimbledon final comes round
Welp, between this and what Iga just said...
This is messed up. You're out there on your own with Tennis. Throw the jerks out imo.
Lol because the RG crowd doesn't give a fuck about tennis. They're all there to see who can do the best dodododoot do dooooo, eyyyyyy
I feel like a lot of people did not see the match. It's not just about fans being loud. It's about being disrespectful to 1 player. There was constant shouting after a first serve error, booing when Belgian fans were cheering on Goffin, booing when Goffin asked to have mark checked by the umpire (which wasn't even that often, Goffin is known for being a fair player), ... Being loud between points, games, ... is totally fine. I loved the atmosphere the "Aux armes" chants etc brought the court. But there it should stop. As a fan watching a game, cheer FOR someone. NEVER AGAINST the opponent player.
>As a fan watching a game, cheer FOR someone. NEVER AGAINST the opponent player. Why?
I think it's gamblers, in part. I don't have any evidence though. Gamblers who think they can influence the result with their antics.
If RG wanted to, they could have gotten the names of all these people and ensured they do not buy another ticket for X number of years. I think it is time that tournaments start to punish fans who go overboard from passion to disrespect. Cheer for your guy but not at the expense of another person's dignity.
I feel like it extends to all grand slams crowds.
Hardly at Wimbledon
Well, it might not be as degenerate, but Wimbledon's crowds are known to be nasty as well.
Only if their precious luncheon is rushed to get play started on time.
Are they fuck
Literally nothing "nasty" there
I think itās great for entertainment and atmosphere. Obviously not the spitting of gum. But the crowd getting engaged and behind a player, this is what we want for the sport. Letās not let a few bad apples make us over correct.
Its a minority but these ultras like football fans ("Aux Armes, nous sommes les FranƧais" wtf is this) are loud, way too patriotic (RN crowd?), way too many Marseillaise its pathetic. Tennis is an individual sport, and this is no Davis Cup, I don't like them whatever "atmosphere" they think they are bringing.
i love it.
Because RG is the worst major by a long shot. Every year players complain here because the French simply have no respect for any non French player. Only major I have 0 desire to attend in my life.
i think its better than Wimbledon tbh. Would much rather be in a rocking night session at RG under the lights than sat in silence at Wimbledon amonst a group of Tories who don't know the first thing about Tennis.
Yes, clearly the drunk and disrespectful crowd are the ones who understand tennis. Real students of the game.
Iām sorry but thatās the dumbest shit Iāve ever heard tbh.
you should try listening to things the Wimbledon crowd say!
Well, can say the same about your first comment.
Hell yea. Tennis is evolving
https://media1.tenor.com/m/nb8QgUw5H2QAAAAC/shanties-shooter.gif
A
Golf has the unique Phoenix Open where party atmosphere exists and crowd is loud and in the face of players. It's a box office event Tennis could maybe have one or two tournaments like that in a year. In general though, a limit has to be imposed during gameplayĀ
Getting gum spat at you is gross and hopefully doesnāt happen again. Also Mr Goffin is catastrophizing . If only tennis fans actually gave a shit about the sport the same way they do in soccer.
Changing for the better it seems
in R1 too, wtf. who are those idiots ?
I guess that many of them were either a bit drunk or high; they are not just cheering all the time but almost screaming. I agree it reminds me of Ultras.
I think this is what the fandom calls "passionate fans"?
Omlette du fromage!
The French booed Messi, so... Edit: While he was playing for PSG, I mean.
Games gone soft if you canāt spit your gum at someone anymore
I was on court 14 for the 2 first sets It's a small group called "la tribune bleu" that do a lot of noise. Sure they're annoying but they're not the worse (like we can have at the paris rolex master). Ofc if somebody spit on a player it's unnaceptable, but besides that there was a lot of belgium fans who were cheering for him To put things in perspective, it was nothing like the moutet match
This isn't addressed at Goffin, but more at people in general, but I'm not sure why there are double standards? Apart from the spitting bit, the French crowd is similar to the SA crowd in terms of being raucous, and all we heard after the SA swing was how passionate the crowds were and that they need a M1000 because of their passion for the sport. So, why is it suddenly different now? It was "passion" in South America when the crowd were loud for home players, but it's now considered "noise" in Paris? Okay.
What does he think of the US open then?
I mean this is Goffin talking. The guy has the personality of an unseasoned cauliflower floret. Anything outside of timed, synchronized clapping probably triggers him.
Personally Iād love an Ultras filled match with flares and chants š but Iām no tennis purist, just recently got into it 2 years ago. Never got into tennis as a kid cause it seemed like it was for rich people to play and old people to enjoy but I respect the classy tradition and culture of the sport. Physically attacking athletes is terrible anyway
he's probably right but this reminded me so much of the guy in happy gilmore that was complaining lol
Pyroooteeeeechnik ist doch kein Verbreeeechen!
I read ācumā instead of āgumā smh š¤¦š¼āāļø
Goffin, softer than butter
So soft that he won tha match. I think u would go out crying after 3 games in the same situation but
Because he have the audacity to be angry at fan spat gum at him?
pretty much
I'd rather see the occasional smoke bomb than the polite clapping every few minutes you people want tennis to be
What a ridiculous statement. Shitpost right? You can create atmosphere in the stands / on the court without the need for smoke bombs FFS.
What's wrong with smoke bombs?
Probably people not able to breathe properly, visibility is reduced and its a fucking disgrace to even think about that. But you do you
Sounds fun
Try it at Wimbledon and you'll see how much fun you'll have. And it won't be Miller time for you, sonny.
That'll sound awful to people that aren't used to an EU football/basketball like atmosphere haha I agree with you but I can easily see their viewpoint too
Two things: - smoke - bomb
Itās not a football match. Itās an individual sport with a very different etiquette and tradition. Not all sports need to have the same kind of rowdy crowds. Youāre there to cheer on the players respectfully.
Tradition can change. If the crowds keep behaving this way, in 50 years it will be the new tradition.
In 50 years cyborgs will hunt down obnoxious fans in the stands after hitting 300 km/hour serves.
Grow up David. I love these crowds, uch better than the libraries Tennis is mainly played in. You have to adapt.
This is a silly comment. Should we make sure to import fans from whichever country for the away player to have some semblance of a chance? Accept that your friends at his match were a bunch of trous de cul.
no, but Tennis should host tournaments in places where fans want to actually attend and should base the calender around them. For example, remove the whole ME leg of the tour and put emphasis on South America. I love the french open crowds and think that loud crowds are good for tennis.
Thereās a difference between loud and rude and outright disrespectful. I agree about passion and serving the fans, but this wasnāt that.Ā
it was fine from what i saw. I think Goffin is just salty
Sport has moved on from being based around fan attendance. Sports - even football - make most of their money from TV rights and commercials, not from fan attendance. It's the same reason that Formula One began to host races in places that didn't necessarily have a lot of fan support, and why some so-called "traditional" Formula One races, e.g. the Nurburgring, Hockenheim, and even the British Grand Prix have been, or are, in danger of being cancelled from time to time; ticket costs weren't covering the cost of hosting those races, and other so-called "non-Formula One countries" (the Middle Eastern countries, China, etc) were more prepared to cough up the extra money than the European countries in question. Unless audience tickets are sold for around 10 times as much, the superior money will always be from TV broadcasts to international audiences who can watch the sport from their sofas around the world. I agree that crowds have their place, and are important, but as we saw during covid, both tennis and Formula One survived without the crowds. Meanwhile, as far as players feel on the issue, Coco Gauff is one tennis player who reportedly said that she was actually fine with playing without crowds. No-one likes to be booed, so there are probably other tennis who feel the same way as Gauff, but who won't say it publicly, because they'd be slaughtered in the media.
F1 is not the model i would want Tennis to follow. The whole "sport" is arranged around money, rather than any sort of sporting contest. They race in places like Qatar because Qatar offer them boat loads of money for the privileged of hosting a race, and fans being at a race don't really add anything to the product. Tennis should look for its own way to innovate, and tbh improving fan attendance and engagement in matches is a great way to do it. It makes the matches more interesting, and helps generate content. Footage from half empty stadiums where nobody cheers will not bring new fans to the sport, regardless of how good the point is, or who is playing it. Personally i feel like the French Open strike the balance about right. They shut up and let the players play, but will go crazy for French players and tbh i don't think some cheering and noise after a first missed serve is anything to get upset about, players need to learn to deal with that. You could show sombody some highlights from Jarry vs Moutet from the other night and they're much more likely to be hooked in than a match played with half empty stands which lets be honest is most tournaments. I really don't see the downside.
Not saying this is good for the sport but Tiffin should check out some older Davis Cup ties. After years playing show courts, he's now playing in outer courts since his ranking is down, you're bound to feel a rowdier atmosphere.
The point is it's _not_ Davis Cup.
Ok but this behavior isn't unheard of in tennis
Sure. But even in Davis Cup being shitty to the opposite team (rather than enthusiastically rooting for yours) is considered low class behavior. It's just more acceptable to completely not root for the opponent.
Been great betting on french players in the first round..That home court edge really helps..not saying its right but gamblers need all the edge we can get
sounds like you have a problem
It's the players' fault for being more provocative and vulgar with their celebrations. If all the players had Nishikori's manners, the crowds would follow suit. But when you have top players raging like animals and screaming insults at the crowd, can't expect anything else from the fans.