French Open: ‘Terrible’ Move for Ben Shelton Backfires as Tennis Fans Vehemently Call out Injustice

Never beating the ‘worst Grand Slam’ allegations. That was the overarching sentiment about the French Open when it didn’t give Dominic Thiem, Caroline Wozniacki, and Simona Halep a wildcard into the main draw. Now that the tournament is midway through the first week, these allegations have only increased, especially after the scheduling for the second-round clash between Ben Shelton and Kei Nishikori.

As one of the most prestigious tournaments, the French Open demands impeccable scheduling. Considering it’s a Grand Slam, there are bound to be high-profile matches from the get-go. And with so many top players making a comeback this year – and many of them unseeded – they’re drawing the seeded ones. Remember Nadal versus Zverev in the first round? Well, a second-round match almost equivalent to that encounter was Shelton versus Nishikori. And while Rafa’s match was on Philippe-Chatrier, guess which court this was scheduled on? Court 7.

Considering the World No.15 was taking on a former World No.4, you would expect the match to take place on a bigger court. Shelton has been making waves in the tennis world for the past year, especially since that match against Novak Djokovic. As for Nishikori, he is returning from a 2022 hip surgery, and as someone who’s been loved as a player ever since he made his debut, this Grand Slam appearance for the Japanese was bound to bring in considerable footfall. However, Roland Garros wasn’t prepared for it.

While there’s no issue with Court 7 in terms of the players’ playing experience, it’s about the number of seats available – or the lack thereof – for fans to witness matches like these. As crowds lined up outside the court to watch Shelton take on Nishikori, with seats getting occupied by the second, the lines only increased after the court was filled to its capacity. Posting pictures of the same on X, journalist Gaspar Lance wrote, “Whoever thought it was a good idea to choose Court 7 for Shelton vs. Nishikori… think again 😂”

Although neither player commented on this before the match, it’s interesting to note that Ben Shelton has previously expressed how scheduling should be so that fans benefit from it, too. Unlike most ATP tournaments, the ATP 500 event in Acapulco often starts its matches late in the evening. Not only does this result in players not having to play in the harsh heat of the day, but also in more spectators attending matches.

“A tournament like Atlanta in the summer should only have night matches like they do in Acapulco. Would be better for the fans for sure, and probably end up with bigger crowds,” Shelton wrote on Instagram. Well, bigger crowds weren’t the problem in Roland Garros. The inability to seat them during his match was the problem.

Players like Ben Shelton advocate for fan-centric approaches, highlighting the importance of considering spectators’ comfort and engagement. However, the scheduling missteps and organizational challenges at Roland Garros have led to widespread dissatisfaction among fans, particularly during the Shelton vs. Nishikori match. And fans expressed this on X.

Ben Shelton’s match-scheduling debacle adds to Roland Garros’ “Miserable Slam” allegations

As mentioned earlier, Ben Shelton and Kei Nishikori are both fan favorites, albeit for different reasons. Considering this and the quality of tennis they both produce, the French Open organizers should’ve known that fans would want to witness this match. But because they didn’t, one fan made a striking accusation: “It was at least Mathieu. Shelton and Nishikori fill this court twice by themselves. You have to follow tennis at a minimum to make a program.”

While it’s normal for tournaments to prioritize their home players, this fan couldn’t believe that the Nishikori versus Shelton match couldn’t even feature on the third-biggest court – Court Simonne-Mathieu. As normal as it may be to favor home players, many didn’t like that Roland Garros pushed quality matches to the side courts. “Shelton vs Nishikori and Grigor vs Maroszan on Court 7. Meanwhile, they keep putting their home players on the main courts as usual,” they wrote.

Alongside Ben Shelton’s match, top 10 players like Stefanos Tsitsipas and Hubert Hurkacz were playing their second-round matches, too. But they didn’t get preference either. “Hubi is on Mathieu & Tsitsi on Langlen, both top10. Aaaaaaaand a French player on Chatrier, bien sûr 🙈” At the time, Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia was going up against Sofia Kenin. As the American got past Garcia, 6-3, 6-3, the latter added to the French players bowing out of the tournament.

Alluding to this, another viewer commented, “On top of that, their top players are getting cooked on main courts 😂” Even tennis journalist Jose Morgado joined in on the criticism, writing, “Just terrible scheduling since the first minute…” The organization hasn’t had the best few years. Remember how almost no women’s matches were scheduled at night last year? With the Shelton-Nishikori planning adding to spectators’ woes, another fan gave the French Open a nickname, comparing it to the Australian Open – the Happy Slam.

“Every year I am like ‘maybe I should go to RG, it’s close and easy,’ then I see pics of people on the grounds and I am like, ‘Nah, I’m good.’ If AO is the happy Slam, RG is…the miserable Slam?” In addition, in the last few months, we have seen humungous complaints from fans about the scheduling of Tennis Channel, NBC, and Peacock. The three services have split coverage for the tournament, but they haven’t done a great job. Unfortunately, they aren’t the only ones. “The organization knows nothing about tennis unfortunately… Same as the French TV (France TV 🤡🤡).”

To maintain its status as a premier tennis event that fans look forward to attending, Roland Garros will hopefully address these concerns and strive for better scheduling and organization in the future.