Melbourne scores new fast-paced summer tennis tournament

Six of the world’s top 50 tennis stars will face off in a new tournament at Rod Laver Arena - featuring DJs and live entertainment - in a fresh boost to Melbourne’s summer of tennis.

A new fast-paced tennis tournament featuring some of the world’s best players in a loud and live setting will be staged in Melbourne in the lead-up to next year’s Australian Open.

Six of the top 50 tennis stars will face off in the knockout, best of three tie-break event that will also bring DJs, music and entertainment to Rod Laver Arena in a special addition to Melbourne’s summer of tennis.

“Red Bull Bassline” will take over Melbourne Park on January 7 — five days before the grand slam begins — with a shorter match format, music during the action and an MC on-court while players duke it out.

Aussie tennis great Dylan Alcott will be MC. Picture: Michael Klein

The inaugural Aussie event, aimed at attracting a different crowd and spicing up the traditional format of tennis, comes after similar tournaments in Vienna and Madrid where the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Aussie Alexei Popyrin competed.

The event has no umpires, on-court player interviews between points and stars wearing heart rate monitors that are visible to the crowd.

Aussie tennis great Dylan Alcott will be MC, in charge of on-court interviews, line-call disputes and interaction with players.

He told the Herald Sun his wish list of players included Aussies Nick Kyrgios, Alex de Minaur and Ajla Tomljanović, Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas, US Open winner Coco Gauff and Matteo Berrettini.

Dylan Alcott’s wish list of players includes Nick Kyrgios. Picture: Mark Stewart

“You’ve got to always innovate for new demos (demographics) to come in and I think this is what this is about,’’ he said.

“It’s showing tennis in a different lens and hopefully there are some new fans who come across because of it.’’

Red Bull athletes from other sports, rising tennis aces and ATP legends could also take part.

“The AO is awesome and I love traditional forms of tennis, I think it’s incredible,’’ Alcott said.

“But I think it’s really important to continually innovate your sport and bring new audiences in.

“It’s going to be fast paced in terms of the scoring – tie breaks, best of five, six players all playing on the same night.

“Music, DJs, interviews in between points and sets – it’s just something different and I love that.’’

Stefanos Tsitsipas is also on the wish list. Picture: Mark Stewart

Alcott predicted the “high energy’’ event would draw crowds not typically interested in tennis.

‘There would be a small portion of fans on the periphery who might think it’s a bit boring, who think it might be a bit quiet,’’ he said.

“Who think ‘we can’t make any noise. ‘It’s not like the footy across the road’ or whatever.

“This will bring those people in and they will be like ‘oh wow, I really like this sport’.’’

Australian Open chief commercial officer Cedric Cornelis said: “Red Bull Bassline is all about bringing fans closer to the players – complementing the spirit of opening week at the AO.

“Players will be warming up courtside and interacting with fans, while the live DJ and Dylan Alcott as MC create an electric atmosphere.’’

Alcott, who won the Australian Open seven times as a quad wheelchair player, said he would try and tap into the player’s mind as the event unfolded, getting them to explain to the crowd what they were thinking as matches unfolded.

“When you have access to athletes mid-match you can say ‘what’s going through your head right now?’,’’ he said.