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PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 01: The Roland Garros logo is seen outside the VIP village on day nine of the 2015 French Open at Roland Garros on June 1, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
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PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 01: The Roland Garros logo is seen outside the VIP village on day nine of the 2015 French Open at Roland Garros on June 1, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
The 2020 French Open was one of the first few tournaments to allow the public to watch the event on show-courts. A maximum of 1000 people per day was allowed inside the stadium to view their favorite players fight against each other.
Having crowds at the stadium helped increase the intensity of several matches at Roland Garros last year. Take the Stan Wawrinka-Hugo Gaston match for instance. Wawrinka was in control for most parts of the match, but the French crowd rallied behind Gaston at a crucial juncture; he broke Wawrinka’s serve, and the matchup took a different turn from there.
Read more: “Ridiculous”: Daniil Medvedev Slams Postponement of French Open 2021
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Rafael Nadal of Spain hugs the Musketeers’ Cup as he celebrates victory following the mens singles final against Dominic Thiem of Austria during day fifteen of the 2018 French Open at Roland Garros on June 10, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
The Roland Garros crowd can be hostile sometimes, especially when a French athlete is on-court. Honestly, their intensity is what’s been missing on-tour ever since the Australian Open had packed crowds for the initial few days in the tournament.
French Open to allow 12500 fans in this year’s tournament
Coming back to the French Open this year, it was initially scheduled to start from May 23rd but got postponed a week later to accommodate more fans in the stadiums.
After discussions with the government, the French Tennis Federation decided to allow 12,500 people per day in the stadiums, with 5000 people slated to enter the main show-court, Philippe Chatrier.
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PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 11: Iga Swiatek of Poland poses on the rooftop of les Galeries Lafayettes Rue de la Chaussee d’Antin with the Suzanne Lenglen Cup following her victory in the Women’s Singles Final against Sofia Kenin of The United States of America on day fifteen of the 2020 French Open on October 11, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
With Roland Garros being one of the few events to start in the country, the French Government decided to use the tournament as a test event to check the threshold for people gatherings in closed stadiums.
The move, made by the French Tennis Federation, allows fans across the globe to witness Roland Garros in its glory all over again. Tennis relies on fans to throng the stadiums and to cheer on their favorites.
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As it’s a lonely sport, watching on TV can get difficult sometimes without all the noise of the people ranting live in the stadium. The postponement of the French Open has delivered the good which will enthrall tennis fans all over the world. The French tennis action starts late next month.
Read more: CONFIRMED: French Open 2021 Gets Postponed, Closes the Gap by 2 Weeks to Wimbledon
