The verdict on Red Bull’s Bassline

If Bassline was an attempt to rally a younger tennis audience – it did an OK job. MC Dylan Alcott and Barbara Schett worked hard to fire up the crowd, and the game itself was entertaining. It definitely provided a different offering to a traditional tennis match.

The play was fast-paced, and games only lasted a matter of minutes. A resident DJ presided over the court, playing an ever-changing assortment of (very loud) club tracks and 2000s hits for the crowd.

But it’s safe to say the event was missing a certain buzz. The near-15,000-seat Rod Laver Arena was nowhere near its capacity, and the format would have benefited from a full house as it relied a lot on audience noise and participation.

The match gave fans the chance to hear more from the players than usual too, with on court interviews throughout the night. Even the player warm-ups, normally tucked away behind closed doors, happened on the sidelines.

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Matteo Berrettini was a particular highlight to watch, taking the format in his stride and showcasing his personality. From a spectator’s point of view, he seemed to be having a genuinely good time – even garnering a few laughs from the crowd.

The music was pumping, and the tracks were being changed at a rapid pace, from Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us to Beyoncé’s Crazy In Love. While the songs were changed almost too frequently, it was difficult to resist tapping your toe when one of your favourite songs came on.

For the tennis fans in attendance, they were impressed with the talent on show. Spectators gained admission to the event through a joint ticket for a separate charity match between Jannik Sinner and Alexei Popyrin, which took place roughly three hours before.

Sisters Sienna and Indiana from Melbourne, who are long-time fans of the exhibition matches during the grand slam’s opening week, were happy to stumble upon the debut of the new format.

“This is all new to us,” said Sienna. “I think it’s a good spin on traditional tennis. The music and everything like that. It gets the audience involved.”

“It’s definitely more upbeat. A lot louder… I think things with DJs are popular at the moment,” Indiana said.

The pair enjoyed themselves, but both said that they would have liked to hear more in the lead up. “[It would be good] if it was advertised a bit more. Because we didn’t know it was on,” said Sienna.

Florian, currently on holiday from Germany, also said he was happy to be attending the new event. He was making the most of the opportunity to dance along to the music in Rod Laver Arena.

“We are leaving on Thursday, so we were like… ‘Wow, Red Bull Bassline sounds good’… It’s nice. There are good party vibes in here,” he said.

So who won?

Danish world No.13 Holger Rune ultimately won the event, beating fellow Scandinavian Casper Ruud of Norway in the final.

Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan and Japan’s Kei Nishikori also competed, with Australia’s own Alexei Popyrin completing the line-up of big names.

Tennis Australia Director of Player Relations Andre Sa said the event was a “huge success” and the atmosphere in RLA was “electric”.

“The players put on a fantastic show … [and] Dylan Alcott was at his cheeky entertaining best,” Sa said.

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