Roland Garros 2023: Women’s matches will be discussed in the program of the night sessions

On March 15, hundreds of thousands of seats for the 2023 edition of Roland Garros were sold out in a matter of hours. It took patience at the ticketing site, luck of the draw and a good internet connection to get Sesame at the end of the online queue.

During the Grand Slam tournament in Paris, the Philippe-Chatrier court is especially popular among tennis fans. Every day of the fortnight, this is where the stars of the circuit are programmed. Night sessions appeared in 2021. From Monday, the first round of the quarterfinals to Wednesday, the center court “menu” is now divided into two sessions: day and evening. Three games for the former, only one for the latter.

Attendance at the Round of 16 stage on Sunday 4 June required €145 in Category 1 – close to the court – and €115 in Category 2 – on the upper level of the stadium. day session. Less expensive, night session prices remained substantial on the same day: 110 and 90 euros in categories 1 and 2.

When the organizers published the Sunday program, 24-year-old Benjamin and 23-year-old Thomas were frankly disappointed. Like many other spectators who only have tickets for the evening game, the two friends from Nantes thought they would see it. ” [Carlos] Alcaraz! »

The match between the Spanish phenomenon, the world number 1, and the spectacular Italian, Lorenzo Mussetti, under the lights of the Philippe-Chatris court, appeared a priori as a beautiful poster. But the organizers opted for a women’s table match between Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka, world No. 2, and American Sloane Stephens, a finalist at the 2018 edition of Roland Garros.

The match against “Alcaraz” lasted longer.

In the process, some decided to sell their seats, so that several hundred tickets were available on Sunday morning on the site of the Roland Garros ticket office. 34-year-old Miruna is one of those who took advantage of the situation to buy them. The Romanian, who works as a business analyst in France, wanted to cheer up his tennis-loving mother, who had come to join him in Paris for a few days. What? “My mom liked the game, so I’m happy”Smiling at the exit of Court Philippe-Chatrier.

At this time, Benjamin and Thomas were already thinking about the next day’s meetings: Since this was the only match, we were very afraid that Sabalenka would win too quickly., testified by two friends who work as computer developers. In the end, the match won by Belarus was closer than expected (7-6, 6-4)… in contrast to the match scheduled for the afternoon, which was a mouth-watering match (6-3, 6-2, 6-2). for Carlos Alcaraz). “But, even hastened, [le match avec] Alcaraz lasted longer”– answers Thomas.

A best of five or three set match,” It’s not exactly the same for the public and for TV shows.”, admits the Frenchman Alice Cornet. Last year, it was her match against Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia that was the only women’s match scheduled for the night session, which was broadcast exclusively on Prime Video.

In 2021, then 2022, each time on Center Court at Roland Garros, only one poster from the women’s table had the honor of the night. At the beginning of this edition, Alice Corne was hoping “at least two” Women’s matches for 2023. There is little chance of hearing him.

Amelie Mauresmo was caught between two fires

Last year, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said she saw it “More referrals for men’s matches”. On Sunday evening, the spectators at Philippe-Chatrier believed that the match would be over before sunset: twenty minutes into the game, Aryna Sabalenka was already winning 5-0. crying: “Amelie, return the money!” »The audience gathered laughter from the audience.

The former number one player in the world will find himself with a firearm. On the one hand, a part of the public criticizes the selection of a match from the women’s draw in the night session broadcast. On the other hand, players on the circuit are asking for better exposure of women’s posters.

“It was time for the women’s match in the night session”Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, the world No. 7, said at a press conference on Saturday. “I’ve had a lot of people say, ‘Women’s matches…’ Did you watch the match? They answer no. How can we judge a women’s tennis match without watching it? »asks the Wimbledon 2022 finalist.

He has a proposal: double the night session with both table posters, as at the US Open and the Australian Open. “It will solve all problems”Thomas believes that the audience met Philippe-Chatrier at the exit on Sunday.

But there is a catch. At the beginning of the tournament, Amelie Mauresmo noted that she was not “It is impossible for RATP [Régie autonome des transports parisiens] » Completion of metro work will be postponed. However, this is the main means of public transport to get to and from the Porte d’Auteuil enclosure. At midnight on Tuesday, May 30, the homer match won by Gael Monfils of France against Sebastian Bae of Argentina ended. Then the audience had to rush to get to the nearest station and get on the last subway.

more humid conditions

Fourteen-time Roland Garros winner Rafael Nadal has already said he did not appreciate the night playing conditions at the tournament where he was frozen. Who says tennis at night at Roland Garros means wetter conditions, therefore a heavier ball that becomes much more difficult to “lift”. While world tennis figures like Ons Jabeur are keen to favor the women’s circuit over its male counterpart, other players have more mundane considerations. Or more accurately ground into “clay ground”.

Is it disappointing that the first six-night session of the 2023 edition of the tournament is monopolized by men’s matches? “I know that no one I’ve talked to really wants a night sessionsaid American Coco Goff, world No. 6, after advancing to the round of 16 on Saturday. On the one hand, we’re glad the men took it, but it’s clear there’s room for choice. So it’s a bit of a shame in that sense. »