Iga Swiatek came out in support of the changes adopted at this year’s US Open, which allow fans to move freely around the courts—something that wasn’t the case in the past.
Tennis rules are relatively rigid, and they rarely change. It’s a sport that prides itself on its traditions, and any changes or progress take years to adopt. An obvious example is the lack of video review in tennis, which is being trialed at this year's US Open, even though there is technology that can show how many times a ball rotates after a serve.
Video reviews are available in New York, but it seems like there needs to be a collective adjustment to make them more prominent, as they were featured prominently during a recent controversial call that left Anna Kalinskaya baffled.
Another change made this year was allowing fans to move freely, as opposed to previous years. Generally, spectators could only enter the court after every two games, but that has now been changed to every game.
Fans are also allowed to move around during games, even though only in certain sections. It’s still a big deviation from the usual tennis norms.
Some players have called for changes like this to be implemented earlier, with fans likely enjoying it a lot as well. Some players probably don’t enjoy it, but it’s not a huge deal for Swiatek.
She’s played well at this year’s US Open, so it doesn’t seem to bother her. But overall, as a tennis player, she is expected to adapt to different challenges anyway, so for her, it’s just one more thing to adjust to.
"I think it’s something that we have to adjust to and something that I have to work on in terms of getting my focus in the right place. For sure I’m gonna wait when people behind my opponent are walking because I want to see clearly when she throws the ball."
"I don’t want to lose it when somebody moves. I think this is the only part where I’m just going to wait. I think the chair umpires are allowing that for now. I hope it stays that way."
Swiatek was criticized in the past for stopping her opponents from serving because she wasn’t ready. She was called out for gamesmanship, but it’s not something she’s completely cut out of her play.
It seems like she might do it more often moving forward, especially if these rules become a mainstay. Another thing Swiatek mentioned is the size of the court.
She’s generally played on bigger courts so far, so she didn’t really notice the change as much, as it could be more observed on the smaller courts.
"It’s going to be more difficult on smaller stadiums when the people walking are going to be closer to you. For now it’s been fine. I played two tournaments with this rule, and I feel like I could focus, so that’s fine for me."
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