Coco Gauff has shown support for a groundbreaking idea from Novak Djokovic aimed at making professional tennis more exciting for fans. As both players continue their Australian Open campaigns, Djokovic raised eyebrows in Melbourne by suggesting a fresh approach to enhance the sport’s appeal, especially for younger audiences.
The 37-year-old Serbian proposed introducing halftime-style entertainment between sets, similar to the performances seen during events like the Super Bowl and NBA games.
While there are concerns about whether tennis match durations would allow for such breaks, Gauff appears to embrace the idea. “I mean, it’s a great suggestion if we had a real halftime like other sports do,” she remarked.
She also pointed out one of the challenges with implementing such a concept, saying, “I think the issue is that we only have a minute. Honestly, I think our changeovers should be a little bit longer here because by the time you walk to your seat, it’s only 45 seconds. But that’s another thing.”
Gauff also offered her own thoughts on how to implement the idea, adding, “I guess it really depends on how long you want the show to go on. I don’t think it will be as long as NFL halftimes, where it’s 15 minutes—that might be too much. Maybe hire some street performers to do a quick 90-second routine, something like that.”
The 20-year-old called Djokovic’s suggestion “interesting” and admitted she was surprised by his comments. However, Djokovic isn’t the only tennis legend advocating for change to attract younger fans.
In November, Billie Jean King proposed a major revision to tennis’ traditional scoring system, suggesting the replacement of 15, 30, and 40 with simpler numbers like one, two, three, and four to help children grasp the game more easily. King also called for tennis to adopt a system similar to football and rugby by adding names and numbers to players’ shirts, making them more identifiable to fans.
Djokovic will likely continue to share his ideas as the tournament progresses. On Sunday, the seventh seed secured his place in the quarter-finals by defeating Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.
