Paula Badosa has joined the choir of players criticizing the newly constructed courtside bar, dubbed the "party court" on Court 6.
Incidentally, Badosa played both of her matches at this year's Australian Open on the same court, where the tournament organizers incepted the idea of constructing a new two-storey bar just adjacent to the tennis court.
Badosa had picked up her first match win since her comeback from back injury by beating Taylor Townsend in the first round. The 26-year-old backed up that win in her next match against Russian veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Surprisingly, Badosa's level has been very good despite being out of action since July 2023. She hasn't dropped a set and has not conceded more than three games in a set. In the third round, she'll play USA's Amanda Anismova, another player who has exceeded expectations in her comeback season.
But one of the major talking points following her win over Pavlyuchenkova was her reaction and honest take on the conditions on Court 6. While the fan experience has been spellbinding, with spectators able to entertain themselves at the bar while live matches take place, it has not been overly positive for tennis players.
"Yeah, I played the day before also there. My two matches I played there. It's very noisy, very loud. It's a little bit tough to concentrate there. Especially also the court is pretty fast. But I'm feeling well there, so I'm not going to complain (smiling)."
Speaking to reporters after the match, Badosa admitted it was "noisy" and massively affected her concentration levels. In tennis, players can easily be impacted with as little as a trivial movement from a bird or a call from the crowd. That is why silence is the golden rule when the ball is in play.
"Yeah, but I know it's pretty loud. It's not very comfortable for the players to play there. In my opinion, I don't really like it because there's a lot of noise, as I said. I mean, my opponent in the first round and now also complained."
"It's not very comfortable. I cannot listen to my team either if they want to say something or if I want to, like, talk to them. Even during the points, it's quite noisy. I don't know if it's going to work in the future."
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