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Paula Badosa acknowledges playing conditions at Court 6 are not "very comfortable" and reveals she is not a big fan of "the party court" model.
Badosa, a former world No. 2, defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 6-3 on Court 6 to progress into the Australian Open third round. On the same court, Badosa also defeated Taylor Townsend 6-1 6-3 in her opener at Melbourne Park.
For this year's Australian Open, the organizers introduced "the party court" model. On Court 6, there is a courtside bar with a capacity of 400 people and its bar-style seating overlooks the court. After Wednesday's match, 2021 French Open finalist Pavlyuchenkova sounded off on "the party court," saying she felt "like in a restaurant" and also claiming that "drunk fans disturbed me by screaming and meowing at me."
Badosa acknowledges the court has been doing her well so far but admits it's not ideal playing conditions.
"My two matches I played there. It's very noisy, very loud. It's a little bit tough to concentrate there," Badosa said after beating Pavlyuchenkova.
"Especially also the court is pretty fast. But I'm feeling well there, so I'm not going to complain (smiling). But I know it's pretty loud. It's not very comfortable for the players to play there."
Badosa does not like either the party court method
Although Badosa has had two very routine wins on Court 6 at Melbourne Park, she doesn't really like the party court method.
"In my opinion, I don't really like it because there's a lot of noise, as I said. I mean, my opponent in the first round and now also complained. It's not very comfortable," Badosa added.
In her next match, Badosa is playing against Amanda Anisimova. This time, Badosa won't be playing on Court 6 as she will be taking on Anisimova at the John Cain Arena.
When Badosa, 26, and 22-year-old Anisimova meet, it is going to be their first meeting. It remains to be seen how will Badosa play on the John Cain Arena and if she can beat Anisimova for an Australian Open round-of-16 spot.