"One thing we can do on tour is be more accepting of kind of like crazier attitudes" - Taylor Fritz on how to make tennis more appealing to younger fans
Taylor Fritz believes that tennis needs to bring in younger fans and he has suggestions in mind for the same. According to Fritz, the sport should embrace "drama and craziness" a bit more.
The 24-year-old is of the opinion that tennis authorities should be more accepting of the "crazier attitudes" of players, which would help in appealing to younger fans.
"I would say just for, like one thing we can do on tour is be more accepting of kind of like crazier attitudes and like stuff like that going on," Taylor Fritz said.
He feels that players should not be fined for the smallest of rule violations or acts on the court, allowing them to freely express themselves.
"I feel like any little thing can kind of get someone fined or get someone in trouble, so I maybe would like to see more kind of just openness for players to be crazier. I think that that's just kind of what the younger generation like responds well to is like all the drama and the craziness and so I think maybe letting players get away with a bit more would be a bit exciting," he said.
The World No. 14 then made an interesting point, saying that he would like to see the hype for tennis grow to a point where excitement for high school tennis matches would match that of sports like football and basketball.
"You know, like when you, I mean, I'm one of the few people that went to like a normal high school. Everyone goes to like the high school football games and basketball games, no one goes to a high school tennis game. It would be cool to see the kind of hype around tennis grow," Fritz continued.
Taylor Fritz’s girlfriend Morgan Riddle is giving fans glimpses of the ATP Tour on TikTok - and Taylor is set to star in the upcoming Netflix documentary on tennis, so I ask him what he’d do to engage younger fans in tennis🎾Taylor Fritz’s girlfriend Morgan Riddle is giving fans glimpses of the ATP Tour on TikTok - and Taylor is set to star in the upcoming Netflix documentary on tennis, so I ask him what he’d do to engage younger fans in tennis
@Taylor_Fritz97 at @rolandgarros on @LiveSportsFM 🎾 https://t.co/u7znxQvSLV
The Indian Wells Masters champion expressed that appealing to a younger fan base should be the priority for those involved with the sport.
"I think appealing to younger generation and making tennis kind of more fun and exciting is like probably the most important thing we need to do as a sport and it's always been one of my kind of personal dreams to see tennis become more popular among younger kids," he said further.
Some behind the scenes of the Netflix tennis doc here while they film with Taylor Fritz https://t.co/bO69GRidjo
Taylor Fritz's experience with Netflix
Taylor Fritz is one of the tennis stars being followed closely by a Netflix filming crew for a tennis documentary set to be released later this year. It all started at the Australian Open in January, during which Fritz did a bit of filming for the upcoming series. The crew also attended some of his matches during the Australian Open and other tournaments.
Taylor Fritz collapsing to the ground after match point of a straight sets win over Tiafoe strikes me as the first real I’m-On-Netflix reaction of the season.
#AusOpen
Additionally, Taylor Fritz's girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, who is a social media influencer, has also been giving fans some behind-the-scenes insights from the tour. She aims to educate a younger audience about the sport and the lives of players on tour.
"I travel the world on the ATP Tour with my boyfriend who is the No. 1 ranked American tennis player. Right now, the crew from Netflix who made the F1 Drive To Survive is on tour with us, filming the tennis version," Riddle had said in a social media post back in February.
The 2021 Indian Wells Masters champion lost to Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the second round of the French Open after a gutsy win over qualifier Santiago Fa Rodriguez Taverna in his opener.