Why do tennis players do on-court interviews?
Novak Djokovic declined an on-court interview after his victory over Jiri Lehecka at the Australian Open
- Published
At the end of a Grand Slam tennis match, the winner usually remains on court for a short time to answer questions from a reporter.
These interviews are generally focused on capturing the immediate emotion that follows a win.
What's the point of on-court interviews?
"To raise a laugh and entertain people," according to former player Mark Woodford, speaking on Tennis Breakfast.
But questions should still be "relevant and polite, and give the opportunity for a player to respond".
Players may then do interviews off the court and attend a news conference, giving a larger pool of journalists the opportunity to ask questions about both past and forthcoming matches.
Do players have to do them?
There are four Grand Slam tournaments a year - the Australian Open, French Open, US Open, and Wimbledon.
The Grand Slams are managed by each of the respective national associations.
These four national associations produce the Grand Slam Rule Book., external
That says players must attend media opportunities after each match, which give them opportunities to "put across their opinions on their performance and provide valuable exposure to the media and fans".
Players can be fined up to $50,000 for failing to attend these media opportunities.
The rules around post-match media commitments include a reference to broadcast interviews, but do not specify these must be completed on the court. That said, it is extremely rare for players not to stay after the match to do these.
At this year's Australian Open, Novak Djokovic swerved the on-court interview after a win which put him through to the quarter-finals.
This followed remarks made by a Channel Nine presenter, which Djokovic called "insulting and offensive". The Australian broadcaster apologised for the comments.
What are the rules for the other professional tennis tournaments?
For tournaments organised by the men's tennis governing body - the ATP - players are fined for not attending post-match news conferences, external and interviews. The consequences are bigger for top-ranked players, who receive larger fines if they're placed higher up the global rankings.
The fines double for each time a player on the ATP Tour fails to fulfil the required media opportunities.
For players on the women's tour - the WTA - players are required to be available for at least 20 minutes post-match to fulfil various media activities., external Like the men's tour, these fines are greater for players higher in the rankings.
When can post-match interviews go wrong?
On-court interviews can often drift away from the match itself.
But that isn't always a recipe for disaster. Coco Gauff, who reached the quarter-finalist in this year's Australian Open, seemed delighted to be asked about her Marvel-inspired tennis outfit, and her love of fashion, after her victory over Sofia Kenin.
But other times, the line of questioning has appeared misjudged, or "quite dopey", according to Woodford.
He said that during a discussion prompted by American Ben Shelton, who criticised the "negative" and "disrespectful" on-court interviews at the Australian Open.
So, what's the secret to a good on-court interview?
Simplicity, according to former player and broadcaster Annabel Croft.
Speaking on Tennis Breakfast, Croft - who conducts post-match interviews at Wimbledon - said: "If you try to be too clever, it normally backfires. I've always maintained the best way for me to do it is to be as simple as possible in my questions.
"At the end of the day, people are there to hear the thoughts of the player, they're not really interested in you, so don't bring yourself into it."