'Uppity' tennis has to up entertainment value

Jessica Pegula has backed Novak Djokovic's call for more entertainment for fans, saying that tennis should become less "stuffy and uppity".

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Djokovic had said after his third-round win at the Australian Open on Jan 17 that tennis needs to be "more fun".

He even suggested that dancers could be brought on court during breaks to appeal to a new 21st-century generation.

World No. 6 Pegula agreed the game needed to jazz things up.

"It's always kind of been a little bit of a stuffy, uppity kind of sport," she said after a shock loss to unseeded Olga Danilovic late on Jan 17.

"At the end of the day, we're entertainers, and I think it can help the sport having more personality."

Pegula is no stranger to sporting razzamatazz - her father owns the Buffalo Bills team in the National Football League, where a full entertainment package during breaks of play or at half-time is all part of the fan experience. However, the staid world of tennis has been slow to follow the example of other sports.