Naomi Osaka’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou has suggested a number of changes that could revolutionise tennis in an attempt to make the sport more entertaining for spectators.
With the draw of the ‘Big Three’ in men’s tennis no longer guaranteed to bring in large crowds after Roger Federer’s retirement and Rafael Nadal’s impending farewell, Mouratoglou believes more must be done to convince people to watch tennis.
The 54-year-old believes that the rules should be changed so that players are limited to one just one serve, rather than two, which will likely result in a reduction of the number of aces and increase the average time that the ball is in play.
Mouratoglou also theorised that breaks between points, serves, and games should be reduced to ensure that fans will not have to wait 25 or 30 seconds for some action on the court.
“There should only be one serve,” he said. “Because otherwise, with the quality of the servers now, there are too many aces, serve winners, and it’s boring for the people. You know, [nowadays] you have one second of play and then 25 or 30 seconds of wait – it doesn’t work.”
Mouratoglou’s suggestions may well be taken seriously as the Aussie is held in high regard in the world of tennis. He was Serena Williams’ coach for a decade until 2022 when she retired from tennis with 23 Grand Slams to her name.
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