PARIS– One player said a French Open spectator spat gum in his direction. Another, No. 1 ranked Iga Swiatek, berated the crowd in the main stadium for making too much noise during points.
Then those responsible for the Grand Slam event at Roland Garros decided that enough was enough: tournament director Amélie Mauresmo said on Thursday that – Sacré bleu! – fans are now prohibited from drinking alcohol while watching games. Which, unsurprisingly, wasn’t necessarily a big hit with some of those who paid for tickets.
“They should let us drink,” said Ana Malevukovic, a 37-year-old plastic surgeon from Serbia, near a bar selling a “garden spritz” across from the Philippe Chatrier Courthouse. “It’s allowed everywhere else. Why shouldn’t it be allowed in a tennis match?”
In another part of her effort to quell turmoil in what is supposedly a refined sport, Mauresmo – who won two Grand Slam titles as a player more than a decade ago – said security would be beefed up around the venue on Day 5 of the tournament. main. tournament held annually in southwest Paris.
“Until now, alcohol was allowed in the stands. Not in all stands; not in the (VIP section of Chatrier), for example,” she said. “But now its over. Everywhere.”
This is not unheard of in sport. Just one, more extreme example: drinking alcohol within sight of the pitch was banned at all football games in Britain almost 40 years ago, following years of fan violence. These days, go to a game there and the stadium concourses are packed with people drinking beer.
Guilherme Kagaya, participating in the French Open for the first time, drank beer from a commemorative plastic cup on a walkway not far from the Suzanne Lenglen Court, where he watched Alexander Zverev defeat David Goffin in the second round.
Kagaya, a 40-year-old Brazilian who works in advertising, saw the issue with the glass half full.
“For me it’s not a problem, because at least I can still drink outside the stadium,” he said. “Actually, it’s more normal to have a beer outside.”
The ban follows concerns about the behavior of those watching the competition.
It was Goffin, a Belgian, who complained after his first-round victory on Tuesday against a French opponent on Court 14 – capacity: 2,158 – that he was “insulted for three and a half hours” by party supporters. The worst part? The gum sent your way during the match.
“It’s a total lack of respect. I think it’s too much. It’s turning into football. Soon there will be smoke bombs, hooligans and fights in the stands. I think it’s getting ridiculous. Some people are there more to cause trouble than to enjoy the atmosphere,” Goffin said, noting that he thinks things are worse at the French Open than at the US Open, Wimbledon or the Australian Open.
“I think it’s a really unhealthy atmosphere here,” said Goffin, who has reached the quarterfinals in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments. words. I will not repeat what I heard.”
Mauresmo said he believes spectators at sporting events have gone beyond limits since emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People returned to the stadiums and were eager to relive that kind of emotion. And then we realized, like (Goffin) did the other day, that some people really crossed the line,” she said. “So what I would like to say is, yes, we are happy that there is an atmosphere, that there is excitement, that there is a crowd. On the other hand, we will be inflexible in respecting the players and the game.”
Swiatek, seeking his fourth trophy in five years at Roland Garros, dispensed with the usual “Thanks for supporting me!” type of post-match speech and instead told fans that they were very disruptive during points when she overtook former No. 1 Naomi Osaka in a thrilling three-set contest on Wednesday.
“When you shout something during the rally or right before the return, it’s very, very difficult to concentrate,” Swiatek said.
“The stakes are big and there is a lot of money up for grabs. So losing a few points can change a lot,” she said. “So please guys, if you could support us between rallies – but not during – that would be really amazing.”
Osaka, for one, didn’t care what was going on, saying it was nothing compared to the kind of thing you see and hear during the US Open, where she won two of her four Grand Slam titles.
“I thought the audience was really cool. For me, I feel like these are the moments I live for. Plus, it makes me feel like the audience is having fun, and I think ultimately that’s what I want most. I want people — like, it doesn’t matter if I won or lost — (to say), ‘Oh, I watched the game and I had a really good time,’” Osaka said.
“For me, I didn’t have any issues with the crowd,” she added. “But I’m also used to New York audiences.”
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