The reality is sometimes brutal... This Friday, on the eve of the pivotal weekend of the Roland-Garros 2023 tournament, the consultants of France Télévisions were surprised, even scandalized, at the observation of a court "far from being full", which is more the court Etienne-Chatrier, also known as center court. Thanks to a stoppage of play during the second men's semi-final of the tournament between Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud, Laurent Luyat said he was "a little surprised" to see that the stadium is not full, adding: "People bought tickets for this match, it means 'I have a ticket but I do not come to see the match'". From the terrace overlooking the court, Justine Hénin and Patrick Mouratoglou also reacted. "It is far from full," said the former Belgian tennis champion. And the sports journalist adds: "Far from being full... Because the spectators bought a ticket only for this match, we remember it. It's not for the two semi-finals but just for this semi-final so it's quite surprising. Yesterday, for the women's semifinals, it was the same. There were a lot of free places. I can't understand the principle of having a ticket and not coming to see the game."
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"It's true that it's incomprehensible. It's even more surprising because I know how difficult it is to buy a ticket to Roland Garros. I have lots of friends who wanted to buy them. Unable to find a ticket. Let these people who do not come, do something with their ticket, "retorted the famous coach (Simona Aleppo, Serena Williams, Stefanos Tsitsipas ...), Patrick Mouratoglou. True that places at Roland-Garros are expensive and that all tennis enthusiasts dream of it. How to explain all these empty seats? The unexpected heat? Quotas of sold, oversold or unsold seats? The international influence of the event that would encourage the happy few to buy tickets without any real intention of participating? A manifest lack of interest from the French public after the elimination of the 28 French players engaged in both tables? A spectacle in any case disconcerting. Especially since the Parisian tournament would break sales records with 620,000 tickets sold in 2022. It remains to be seen what will happen this weekend, when all the matches are played.