Mouratoglou defends noisy tennis crowds in response to Swiatek's plea for silence

Former Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou responded to Iga Swiatek after the Polish player asked the Roland Garros crowd not to shout during rallies. The 3-time French Open champion survived a tough match against former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka and used the on-court interview to request more silence from the fans.

The French coach posted a video on social media defending noisy crowds, stating that there will always be individuals who cross the line, but they are usually a minority and loud audiences are an important part of the sport.

Swiatek came back from being 2-5 down in the third set against Osaka, even saving a match point before sealing a 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 victory in a 3-hour match. The world No. 1 commented after the match that shouting during rallies distracts players: “I’m sorry to even bring this [up]. I have huge respect for you guys [the fans] and I know that we are basically playing for you because this is entertainment and we’re also earning money because of you,” Swiatek said.

"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," the world No. 1 added. “Please guys, if you can support us between the rallies but not during, that would be really amazing.”

The former coach of Serena Williams and Simona Halep emphasized that fan excitement is an essential part of sports and that the public has the right to shout at such events: "Sorry Iga Swiatek, 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.

The coach also mentioned the incident that occurred with David Goffin in his match against local player Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The Belgian accused a fan of trying to spit gum at him and complained about fans insulting and shouting during the match:

"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 players or throw chewing gum or whatever. This is completely crossing the line," Mouratoglou said. "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.”