At Roland-Garros, the empty boxes at the edge of the center court are, each year, the only French promise guaranteed to still put on the show in the second week. Nothing new under the sun, which shines by its absence in French Openrenamed since the beginning of the fortnight the Drench Open (for “soaked”). No need to delve very far into the archives to unearth the criticisms fueling the refrain.
Tuesday May 28, Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet played the last match of her career (singles) on a partly bare Philippe-Chatrier court. On Wednesday, the lower stands were two-thirds empty for the defeat of her compatriot Caroline Garcia. The spectators apparently had nothing better to do than watch tennis given the weather, especially since the rain had forced the tournament management to cancel the matches on the side courts. The French number one’s match was, of course, scheduled for lunchtime, but the stands were just as sparse at the end of the afternoon for the spectacular clash between Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka, two quadruple Grand Slam winners…
Even evening sessions are not spared: the poster vintage between Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka did not attract crowds for the first night of the fortnight. And only the improbable first round between Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev, which looked like a final, has so far been full of fans – all the way to the packed presidential stand. Annoying, when all the matches are supposed to be sold out, and exasperating for the viewers. Especially those who waited in endless virtual queues in mid-March to obtain a precious ticket (on the Chatrier, the price of seats varies between 55 euros and 450 euros).
The Central sounds hollow when elsewhere it is overflowing
Paradoxically, the Central, supposed to be the heart of the reactor, sounds hollow when elsewhere, the pot is overflowing. On all the other courts, as the day fades, the stands come alive, burst into flames and, sometimes, go beyond the limits. Even more so since the years of closed doors (and the Covid-19 gauges). Thursday May 31, Amélie Mauresmo whistled the end of recess: “Alcohol in the stands is over”, decided the boss of the tournament. The public drinks – since 2023, sellers even walk around with a tank of “express beers” in the back – and the players toast, in short.
The “empty chair” policy has become more pronounced since the reconstruction of the Central Court (with the addition of a retractable roof), between the 2018 and 2019 editions. Work which could not be done without the help of “new partners “, then recalled in The Team Guy Forget, Mauresmo’s predecessor. Implied: there is no question of moving the boxes higher up, so that their emptiness is less noticed. This is the case for example at the US Open and the Australian Open (there is none on the center court at Wimbledon).
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