Noise at tennis tournaments is now a problem

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo credit: Matthew Turner

I have written about excessive noise at sports events, including college and professional football, basketball games and Major League Baseball games, but now it appears that noise is a problem at prestigious tennis events, too. The New York Post reported that Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic complained about crowd noise while playing against American Taylor Fritz at the now-concluded U.S. Open tennis tournament.

Djokovic appealed to chair umpire Damien Dumusois to do something about the crowd noise, but the umpire demurred. Djokovic lost the set, but came back to win the game.

The New York Times* reported in 2016 that the roof over the Arthur Ashe Stadium created noise problems, and also that crowds at the U.S. Open have historically been noisier than those at the other major tennis events.

In football, noise from the home team’s supporters can make it difficult for the visiting team to hear the quarterback’s signal calls. Stadium staff often exhort the crowd to “make some noise” or “get loud” on the pervasive electronic signs, and sometimes play loud music or drumbeats on the PA system. The crowd noise may contribute to the disparity between home and road wins in football, although professors at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business say that crowd noise isn’t a factor. It’s not clear what difference crowd noise makes for the home team in basketball or baseball, sports where there’s a clear home field advantage, so maybe the professors are right.

My only advice to anyone attending just about any event, from an athletic event to a play to an awards dinner, is to always carry earplugs in a pocket or a purse. If it sounds loud, it’s too loud and one’s auditory health is at risk. I have walked out of too-noisy events, but sometimes that isn’t feasible, so insert your earplugs and enjoy.

*The New York Times article may be behind a paywall.