Kneeling on the ground, Yannick Noah exults in front of the 15,000 spectators of the Central. This Sunday, June 5, 1983, he won Roland-Garros against Mats Wilander. The embrace with his father a few seconds later and the invasion of the court – an image unthinkable today – marked the history of the tournament and world tennis.
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"It was an event, because we had been waiting for this since Marcel Bernard's victory thirty-seven years ago and Yannick is very charismatic," says Jean-Paul Loth, who was present that day. He's black, he's got his story, he's super handsome boy and has a sense of comedy. There was everything to make a huge buzz. This success, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, has shaped the legend of the Parisian Grand Slam and allowed it to become a television event as unmissable as the Tour de France or the Six Nations Tournament.
Yannick Noah during his final against Mats Wilander in 1983. Sports Press
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Chaotic beginnings
Before Noah's feat, Roland-Garros was already enjoying great popularity, acquired despite a chaotic start. On 28 May 1960, the French followed the final between Nicola Pietrangeli and Luis Ayala, the first live broadcast of a Paris Grand Slam match... whose end they will never see. In the middle of the meeting, Georges de Caunes returns to the air, explaining that there are a lot of programs planned for a long time! At that time, TF1 and Antenne 2 jointly broadcast the Grand Slam in the afternoon and these impromptu cuts were not uncommon. In the 1970s, French interest in tennis grew. The rules are simple, the sport, telegenic, and the players of the time whimsical. "There was a click of tennis on television with the advents of Ilie Nastase and then Björn Borg, explains Jean-Paul Loth. The Romanian player had a screen presence, almost like a movie actor, who entertained people. It dramatized the game, which was, until then, confined to exchanges. McEnroe, Connors, Nastase, Vilas, Borg and Wilander left their mark on this period.
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Winning shot for France Télévisions
In 1978, TF1 signed a contract with the French Tennis Federation to produce and broadcast the entire tournament. The success is immediate and Noah's victory completes this new era. The broadcasting rights of the event then become a major issue for French channels. In 1988, TF1, just privatized, offers a large sum of money to keep them.
« People wanted to see tennis, play tennis. The number of licensees rose from 70,000 in 1978 to 1.3 million in 1990. »
Jean-Paul Loth
Christian Quidet, director of sports for the public service, launched the idea of dedicating two channels to the event, Antenne 2 and FR3. Philippe Chatrier, the president of the federation at the time, is conquered. Nice winning shot. "Thanks to this, no beautiful match was going to go by the wayside," explains Jean-Paul Loth. Tennis then took off considerably. People wanted to see tennis, play tennis. The number of licensees rose from 70,000 in 1978 to 1.3 million in 1990. Roland-Garros is no longer the prerogative of aficionados alone. Even today, the event brings together all French people, since 80% of viewers who follow the tournament (nearly 42 million in 2022 on France Télévisions) watch tennis only once a year.
John McEnroe at Roland Garros in 1984. DESCHAMPS/CARON
An appointment like a Proust madeleine
The event acts like a Proust madeleine, recalling the beginnings of the coming summer, the exams to be revised or the endless days lulled by the exchanges with an uncertain outcome... To each his memories of the Parisian Grand Slam. As a child, Justine Hénin did not miss a beat. "I've been in it for years," she says. The voices of tennis were for me those of the commentators of the time. Like Jean-Paul Loth, who has accompanied millions of French people on TF1, France Télévisions and Eurosport, and owes his presence on the air to a stroke of blood: "In the early 1980s, I was national technical director and captain of the France team. I found that, in the comments, the image of the players and tennis was not valued. I went to see Hervé Duthu the journalist officiating at the time to tell him. He said, "If you think you can do better, just comment with me." He rises to the challenge. Just after, Martin Bouygues, the boss of TF1, who understood the interest of having someone talking about tennis in a different and more technical way, offered him a contract. "I did this graciously for about ten years, until Yannick Noah became a consultant. When I found out how much the former champion was paid, I changed my mind. »
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Mythical commentators
From Hervé Duthu to Jean-Paul Loth, Michel Drhey, Patrice Dominguez, Guy Forget, Arnaud Boetsch, Mary Pierce, Justine Hénin, Gérard Holtz and Lionel Chamoulaud, journalists and consultants bring the tournament's great hours to life together. Until the late 1980s, their working conditions were rather precarious. "We had a small wooden cabin covered with a tarpaulin in the middle of the viewers," recalls Lionel Chamoulaud, who commented on the tournament for thirty years. This explained the tone of the tennis comments: we whispered, because, if we spoke too loudly, the spectators could hear us and the players too. The renovations of the Central, shortly after, allowed them to take their revenge with a cabin the size of an apartment!
Rafael Nadal in 2009 on the Parisian clay. François BOUCHON
Bill Clinton on the fly
Over the decades, Roland-Garros continues to build its legend thanks to the players, actors of a film whose script is never written in advance. In addition to the fourteen successes of Rafael Nadal, undeniable king of the Porte d'Auteuil, no one will forget the heart drawn by Gustavo Kuerten, the coronation of Mary Pierce, the tears of Martina Hingis after her defeat against Steffi Graf, the victories of Andre Agassi and Roger Federer or Michael Chang's stroke of genius in front of Lendl. "When it is used with a spoon, the whole world laughs. It's a real show," jokes Gérard Van der Gucht, director of the tournament from 1978 to 1998.
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Some side effects have also marked the spirits, such as the arrival of Bill Clinton in 2001. The irreplaceable Nelson Monfort had cunning to speak to him. Seeing him leave the gallery to go to the bathroom, he then decides to wait for him at the exit. An idea that paid off, but that was not to the taste of the bodyguards of the former American president. "They took Nelson by the pass," recalls Lionel Chamoulaud. But after the intervention of Christian Bîmes, the president of the federation, he was able to carry out his interview. »
Federer's tear
It is impossible to transcribe the emotion of these significant moments without the know-how of the directors of this event broadcast on 220 territories and on 170 channels and platforms.
Innovation and questioning are the watchwords of these kings of the image who rely on ever more sophisticated techniques. "In the early 1980s, technology allowed us to make tighter shots of people's eyes, of people's emotions," Van der Gucht continues. Françoise Boulain, who worked thirty-eight years at Porte d'Auteuil – a record of longevity – adds: "When you broadcast a match from the back of the court for three hours, it can be boring. The idea is to show the reaction, the emotion, the rage of the player, but also sometimes of the public. Every year, we tried to bring new things so that people would not get tired. The director will place a camera under the referee's chair and on the net to get new angles.
Andre Agassi DESCHAMPS
"In 1995, Jérôme Revon had positioned a 60-meter crane to film all of Paris and to have more or less wide shots of the exchanges, it was revolutionary," recalls Fred Godard. Arrived that year, the director also made his contribution by initiating lateral travellings and work on directional sound to capture the breath or the sound of footsteps of the players. Not to mention the supermagnifier capturing 1,000 frames / second against 24 usually. "You could see a drop of sweat or a tear. It allowed me to show Federer's when he won," he notes.
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A heritage event
The Central, armed with four or five cameras in the 1970s, now has twenty-two. In 2021, the entire stadium will be modernized with the construction of a roof for the Philippe-Chatrier court, court lighting and night sessions broadcast on Prime Video. For two years, France Télévisions no longer produces the signal and shares its broadcast with the platform. However, the historical partner still offers a full broadcast of the tournament. "Roland-Garros is one of the heritage events that it is important to continue to offer to the French for free. We offer the best on the linear and a system of multicourts on the digital, "notes Laurent-Eric Lelay, the sports director of the public service, who has renewed his contract with Roland-Garros until 2027 included.
Serena Williams, winner of Roland-Garros in 2002 against her sister Venus. POCHAT
The man behind the tennis player
This year, France Télévisions offers nearly ten hours of live coverage per day with commentary by a dedicated team with, as conductor, Laurent Luyat, faithful to the position for twenty years. Every day, he receives all the champions on his terrace overlooking the Central. "These interviews are a real privilege. It's a bit like if, during the World Cup, TF1 received Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi every night. I measure my luck, "says the host, who has just released the book Twenty years of Roland-Garros (Ramsay). Justine Hénin, holder of four Porte d'Auteuil titles and now a consultant, continues: "The players take the time, we can take them to other fields and see the man behind the athlete. We live beautiful moments of sincerity. Both hope to share others this year, especially with Yannick Noah expected by all to relive the emotion of his coronation, forty years later...