The French Open gets underway on Sunday, with chiefs at Roland Garros seeking ways to combat the deterioation in supporter behaviour at tennis events in recent years
French Open chiefs will ban supporters from drinking alcohol in the stands as they look to clampdown on bad behaviour. The second major of the year kicks off in Paris on Sunday, with Carlos Alcaraz the defending men’s champion.
Tennis bosses have been battling against a deteriorating level of fan behaviour during matches. At last year’s tournament at Roland Garros, one supporter allegedly spat chewing gum at Belgian star David Goffin during his win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Tournament chiefs responded by introducing a mid-event alcohol ban in the stands. There is little sign that fan behaviour could improve, with a number of incidents during the Italian Open over the last fortnight.
Women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka told a fan to “shut the f*** up” after they yelled out at her during her quarter-final defeat to Zheng Qinwen. In the previous round, world No. 22 Clara Tauson confronted a crowd member who heckled her after she served a double fault against Mirra Andreeva, asking, “Who are you?” before imploring the umpire to intervene.
Meanwhile, men’s star Jakub Menšík was involved in a similar confrontation during his match against Fábián Marozsán. That has convinced French Open chiefs to bring in firm rules for supporters.
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Roland Garros director Amélie Mauresmo has confirmed to that alcohol consumption will be banned in the stands for the entire tournament this year. She warned that any fan whose behaviour falls below standards will be removed from the stands.
“It will be fully renewed this year. You can obviously consume in the aisles. But once you’re on a court, that’s it. And if we notice any incidents, we don’t hesitate to evacuate spectators,” she told Ouest-France.
“I also think that the post-Covid period has given people the desire to express themselves differently and more fully, to let go. And not just at sporting events.”
Alcaraz wrapped up his preparation for this year’s tournament by winning the Italian Open, beating Jannick Sinner in Sunday’s final. He is now totally focused on winning at Roland Garros for a second successive year.
“I’m just really happy to get my first Rome French Open ban announced as fans threatened with being removed from Roland Garros, hopefully it’s not going to be the last one,” he said. “The first thing I want to say is that I’m just really happy to see Jannik back at this amazing level.
“I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him coming back after three months and making the final of a Masters 1000 in his first tournament [back]. It’s something insane, so I have to congratulate him. I’m proud of myself, with the way I approached the match mentally.
“Tactically, I think I played pretty well from the first point until the last one. I didn’t do a rollercoaster… I maintained my good level throughout the whole match, so I’m really proud about everything I did today.
“All eyes are on Paris right now, on Roland Garros. Beating Jannik, winning Rome, both things mix together and give great confidence going to Paris. I always say ‘The final is not about playing, the final is about winning’. I just repeat everytime I play a final.”
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