The new rule that has Australian Open players divided — and has nothing to do with actual tennis

MELBOURNE, Australia — Tennis has long been a game associated with decorum and well-behaved fans. “Quiet please,” is the name of the game, at least during play.

But in a rule introduced for this year’s Australian Open, fans are now allowed to leave their seats as well as enter and exit the courts at Melbourne Park between games, and not just at changes of ends.

It’s been met with divided opinions on the tour. Australian world No. 47 Jordan Thompson, at his home Grand Slam, was less than impressed during his first-round match when fans started moving and talking during the sometimes very brief breaks.

After asking the chair umpire to do something about the noise and movement, Thompson was informed of the new rules, to which he responded: “You’re kidding me. Really? Oh my God, this is the wokest tournament ever.”

Later, in his press conference following what ended up being a five-set win, Thompson clarified he used the wrong word “in the heat of battle” and “probably shouldn’t have said it,” but maintained the new rule was not a good one.

“How many years which [we have] been playing tennis, and then all of a sudden they spring on us that [the fans] can come in between [games], not even a sit-down?” he said. “So it just disrupts everyone’s rhythm.”

When asked about Thompson’s comments, two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka agreed, saying that tennis seems to “keep making some rules that make no sense.”

“Like we’re trying to [shorten] the changeovers, then we are waiting for people to sit down,” she said. “Like, of course we can try to play with people moving, but it is distracting.”

But not all players are fazed by the changes. For some, like Cameron Norrie, a former All-American at Texas Christian University (TCU), it reminds him of the rowdy atmosphere he faced weekly at college tennis tournaments.

“I’m not really too bothered about it,” he said after his win. “Playing in college, you could shout out in the middle of the point and there were some crazy rules in my…