Stefanos Tsitsipas to participate in first-of-its-kind tie-break event in Vienna, says the format will "revolutionize" tennis and take it to "another dimension"
Stefanos Tsitsipas is ready to reinvent tennis. The 23-year-old, along with seven other top players, are set to take part in Red Bull Bassline, a new tie-break tournament in Vienna on October 22, just a couple of days before the start of the Vienna Open.
The seven matches of the event will last roughly 10-25 minutes each in a best-of-three tie-break format. The idea behind the event was to cater to a younger tennis audience.
Tsitsipas, on his part, believes the overall tennis experience can be enhanced by altering the traditional format of the game and making it faster. The Greek wants fans to be able to engage with the players, as well as some friendly drama between the competitors.
"It’s a new format, a faster format, much more exciting for fans of a younger age. There’s going to be energy, there’s music, there’s a whole lot of vibrancy put into it which makes it like a breath of fresh air,” he said in an interview with Red Bull. “It will revolutionize tennis, I would say, bring it to another dimension."
While Tsitsipas believes there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the current format of the game, he feels other sports have adapted better to the changing times by making them quicker.
"I don’t think there’s anything wrong with tennis. In today’s world, everything is moving really fast, there are a lot of distractions, everything tends to be faster, quicker," the Greek said. "And the idea stemmed from there, making tennis much more exciting, with more energy and more intensity put into every single point."
Tsitsipas expects players to approach the match with more intensity since every point will matter, but he also hopes they will have fun while playing their best tennis.
"We’ll have everyone… going at it 100 percent, each one displaying their best game. But also we want everyone to have a huge smile on their face; we want players to have fun while they’re out there doing what they do best," Tsitsipas said.
"I would like to see showtime being held on court – music being played and the fans much more involved in the game" - Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tennis crowds tend to behave themselves most of the time during matches and if they're unruly, the chair umpires always reign them in. However, Tsitsipas hopes that at Red Bull Bassline, the crowd will express themselves and cheer for their favorite players vigorously.
The matches will also be accompanied by a soundtrack to hype up the crowd and players.
"I would like to see showtime being held on court – music being played and the fans much more involved in the game than they already are. And that’s going to bring new life into the sport," Tsitsipas added.
As far as the choice of music is concerned, Tsitsipas wants something that is modern, gets the crowd on their feet and elevates the overall atmosphere.
"Whatever’s trending, whatever has people hyped, mostly trending stuff that people enjoy listening to that gives a good vibe and a good atmosphere," he said. "I’m not sure about heavy metal – but definitely something that’s going to add energy, add to the atmosphere and enhance the tennis. The dream scenario is to have the fans immersed in the game, to be part of the game."
The most radical change will be the absence of umpires and linesmen. All calls will be made using technology and if players have an issue, they'll have to sort it out between themselves. Tsitsipas, on his part, is not concerned if matches get heated as he wants everyone to express themselves and be "unfiltered".
"Basically, we have tennis unfiltered – everyone can express themselves, everyone can get angry, fully express themselves on court," he said.
Tsitsipas admitted that the event is focused on catering to a younger audience and also expressed his desire to see more young players compete. Currently, Carlos Alcaraz, Reilly Opelka and Jurij Rodionov have signed up to take part. They will be accompanied by veteran Feliciano Lopez, who is also in the mix for Friday's event..
The live stream for the event can be accessed here.