"Sorry Iga Swiatek"- Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou disagrees with World No. 1's comments on fan etiquette at French Open

Renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou was critical of the comments made by Iga Swiatek at the French Open. The World No. 1 criticized the crowd behavior at Roland Garros during her match against Naomi Osaka.

The match between Swiatek and Osaka was a classic contest that went on for three hours, with the momentum of the match swaying from one player to another. In the final set, the Pole saved a match point and came back from a 5-2 deficit to overcome the challenge posed by Osaka.

During her post-match interview, Swiatek pleaded to the crowd not to shout during the rally as it was distracting for the players on the court. She said that she understood that the audience was an important stakeholder in the game, but not at the expense of the player's performances.

"This is serious for us and sometimes it is hard to accept. The stakes are big and we are playing for a lot of money. Sometimes under a lot of pressure, when you scream something during the rally, it is very distracting and hard to focus," Swiatek said (as quoted by BBC).

Tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou voiced his disagreement with Swiatek's comments. He thought emotion was an important aspect of live sport and the audience had every right to shout during a match to support their favorite player.

"Sorry Iga Świątek, I think fans should be allowed to shout out during tennis matches. Emotion is what makes sport great! Though, there is one thing happening right now that I don’t agree with – I explain at the end," Mouratoglou wrote.

"There has to be limits of course"- Mouratoglou expresses that there should be a limit to crowd behavior

While not agreeing with Swiatek's opinion on fan behavior at the French Open, Mouratoglou did go on to say that there were certain instances where the crowd's behavior was unacceptable. He cited the spitting incident during David Goffin's match against Giovanni Mpetshi in the first round and opined that such behavior should not be tolerated.

"Now what I agree with in the comment of David Goffin, that there has to be limits of course. We can't let people spit on player or throw chewing gums or whatever. This is completely crossing the line." Mouratoglou said.

The tennis coach advised that the stadiums should be closely guarded by security people who would ensure that players were protected from any unruly behavior from the crowd. If any such instances were spotted, then the perpetrators should be identified and taken out of the stadium.

"Now I think in the stadiums there need to be, their job is to see if some people are crossing the line and if they are, they have to be warned straight away. And if they continue, then they have to be taken out of the stadium," he added.

To curb crowd excitement, the French Open organizers have implemented an alcohol ban in the stadiums.