Why do tennis players do on-court interviews?

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.