Brit tennis star Liam Broady agrees with the French Open’s decision to ban booze… insisting some fans just drink to ‘see which players they can rattle’ with ‘personal and verbal abuse’

Liam Broady agrees that unruly behaviour is becoming worse at the French Open, saying some fans attend not to watch tennis but ‘to go for a drink with their mates and see which players they can rattle’.

The French Open have banned supporters from drinking alcohol on court after players complained of an increasingly hostile atmosphere. 

The trigger for the action taken by tournament director Amelie Mauresmo was David Goffin’s match against French player Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, when he said one fan spat chewing gum at him amid an atmosphere of ‘total disrespect – it only happens in France’.

Britain’s world No147 Broady backed his Belgian colleague, sharing his own experiences of harassment from fans at Roland Garros.

‘A lot of players have said it’s been like that for a few years since Covid. I’ve had all sorts there, personal abuse,’ the 30-year-old told Talksport.

Fans have been banned from consuming alcohol in the stands after David Goffin was spat at

‘You try and laugh it off. But it’s difficult because you’ve only got 15 or 20 seconds between points and you’ve got a nine-year-old kid telling you what’s going to happen and insulting you. It’s a different experience.

‘Last year in my second round of qualifying I had to ask for a group of people to get removed. I think it’s been happening for a few years now and the umpires don’t seem to be able to do anything. 

‘I do get the feeling at the French Open that a few guys go for a drink with their mates and see which players you can rattle. A lot of people don’t actually go to watch the sport.

‘The sound is not a problem, If you change that rule I think players would get used to it. It’s more about when people are personally going for a player, giving them verbal abuse. 

‘We use the towels and the towel box is right next to where people sit and Goffin is getting spat at.’