‘We’re entertainers’: Pegula backs Djokovic call to jazz up tennis

Jessica Pegula has backed Novak Djokovic’s call for more entertainment for fans, saying tennis should become less “stuffy” and “uppity.”

Djokovic said after his third-round win at the Australian Open that tennis needs to be “more fun”.

He suggested even that dancers could be brought on court during breaks to appeal to a new 21st century generation.

World number six Pegula agreed the game needed to jazz things up.

“It’s always kind of been a little bit of a stuffy, uppity kind of sport,” she said after a shock defeat to unseeded Olga Danilovic late on Friday.

“At the end of the day we’re entertainers, and I think it can help the sport having more personality.”

Pegula is no stranger to sporting razzamatazz — her father owns the Buffalo Bills team in the NFL, where a full entertainment package during breaks of play or at half-time is all part of the fan experience.

But the staid world of tennis has been slow to follow the example of other sports,

She also believes that social media has players looking over their shoulder, wary of doing anything outrageous.

“Nowadays it’s maybe tougher with social media that everything kind of comes back to haunt you,” she said, but called for players to lighten up.

“Back in the day when social media wasn’t around, you had so much more personality in tennis, probably because those things didn’t stick with you forever.

“I think the more personality, the better.”

dh/mp