LOS ANGELES — Professional tennis is taking an abrupt turn this week, careening from the stately strawberries and cream and reverential hush of Wimbledon to a relatively new event that will encourage fans to make noise, feature mid-match interviews and be contested by a field that includes "The Hot Shot," "Big Foe" and "Bublik Enemy."
The Ultimate Tennis Showdown is coming to Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson for three days starting Friday. With matches divided into four eight-minute quarters, loose conduct rules and interaction between players and fans, the series aims to engage audiences that are accustomed to consuming entertainment in quick, action-packed bites.
Creator Patrick Mouratoglou, the Frenchman who coached Serena Williams for a decade, isn't trying to replace what he calls "classical" tennis, the men's and women's pro tours. He wants to shake off stuffy traditions and create "a disruptive tour which really aims to seduce the new generation." That means turning passive spectators into active participants.
