The general atmosphere and the crowd’s mood and expressions within a sport’s field are probably among the most significant factors to take into consideration when watching any game.
In fact, for some sports the reactions and the cheers of the spectators are so enhancing and motivating for the players, that are often affecting the final result of a game. This is something that everyone takes into account, even punters who use any Bangladeshi betting site to place their wagers based on their predictions.
But what happens in those other cases, where cheers and any kind of verbal or sound expression from the crowd is considered to be a distracting noise?
If you are a fan of tennis you have certainly witnessed annoyed, irritated tennis players who are willing to stop serving until all noise is effectively ‘removed’ from the air within the court.
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And you must have certainly listened to the popular “Quiet please” or “S’il vous plaît”, in French, when we are talking about Roland Garros – that umpires continuously say when the crowd is cheering or making more noise than what is allowed and expected (!) in a tennis match.
First things first. Concentration is one of the most important things in tennis. For all players, being able to immerse themselves into the match, ‘hear’ the ball and clear out any possible distractions is of course a big deal.
In some cases, concentration is what accounts for a good game, winning a big, difficult tennis match or even an entire tennis tournament. It requires deep thinking and having a clear mind to set your strategy when you play tennis, both of which can be tackled when there is so much noise around you.
Tennis is an uptight sport. No one can deny that. Everybody is polite – or at least is expected to be polite, everyone behaves well and has manners and there is little room for spontaneity. And we are talking about the spectators of course! You are not “allowed” to yell, shout, cheer loudly or even stand up your seat and move when the tennis players are on. And if you do it in a way that distracts them, then you hear that famous “Quiet please” or “S’il vous plaît”, which let’s admit it, is nothing else but a polite manner to say “shut up”!
But is the noise distracting the players or the fact that any sound is now regarded as ‘noise distraction’ that is so annoying? In other sports, the crowd’s voices are energizing players, making them feel stronger and more committed in performing well and potentially winning. In tennis, though, the crowd’s voices are only “allowed” when players are not playing, else they are considered as ‘noise distractions’ (!).
As we said before, concentration is a key thing in tennis, but legitimizing noise distraction “measures” and norms in a tennis court is far from what the actual sport is all about. Tennis is not only about the two players.
Any sport requires spectators. Afterall big tournaments in tennis are big because they are followed by the public and they get worldwide attention. If not followed by the public and if people don’t get to see and enjoy tennis, then the whole huge tennis tournament thing collapses.
That said, tennis players need fans and fans will remain fans if they are able to express themselves and enjoy themselves while watching a tennis match. What is now regarded as normal in tennis needs to change. Every athlete can put up with a little noise, because that’s sports! Tennis players need to learn to live and play with some background sounds and stop what is becoming an institutionalized matter in the major tournaments.
