Programming, comments ... Roland-Garros on Amazon Prime, what do tennis fans think?

This is the big news, in terms of TV, of this Roland-Garros 2021. Amazon Prime broadcasts, every day, the matches scheduled on the Simonne-Mathieu court and the “night sessions” (

Editor's note: night sessions

), from from 9 p.m.

To watch, you need a paid and 100% digital subscription.

However, there was an offer to experience the service for free for 30 days, which allowed many tennis fans to get a feel for it.

To start with the programming of matches.

If the choice of matches on the Simonne-Mathieu is "quite interesting because it allowed to see some French during the first week", Antoine, considers that "on the night sessions, it turns a little.

They play all the great players, but nobody wants to play there for the moment ”.

The absence of an audience is annoying.

Indeed, the curfew at 9 p.m. prevents access to the stands.

Behind closed doors: the rant of Benoît Paire

"It's scandalous to put Tsonga in the last match when we don't know if it's his last match for Roland or not," continues Abdallah.

Thibault, is of the same opinion: "Broadcasting the Nadal-Gasquet match on Prime behind closed doors when it was the last Frenchman in the running and it was Nadal's birthday, it's average, but hey…"

The feeling is the same behind the screen and on the pitch.

Thus, the French tennis player Benoit Paire, eliminated in the first round in singles at Auteuil, was carried away on the court.

Sunday evening, during his doubles meeting with the Monegasque Romain Arneodo against the pair Hugo Nys and Tim Pütz, the Avignon resident criticized this “m **** programming”.

For him, playing without an audience is to distort tennis.

@rolandgarros nice programming bravo 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 instead of withdrawing the accreditation of a sparing who takes a selfie and sets the mood on matches you should think about doing your job ✔️

- pair benoit (@benoitpaire) June 6, 2021

Regarding retransmission, our interviewees praise the quality of the new consultants (Amélie Mauresmo, Frédéric Verdier): the analyzes are fine.

“Commentators do a good job,” says Charles.

They are happy to find the voices of the usual specialists (Eurosport, France TV), even if Abdellah confides that the lack of vigor of the commentators who “whisper” “makes him want to sleep”.

Towards the end of free-to-air tennis?

Valentin recognizes the quality of the work carried out by the Amazon staff but deplores that “not everything is broadcast in clear on France TV” because that adds to the constraint.

Charles, 18, is more divided on the question: "At the same time, it's normal that it becomes private because there is money at stake, but it's also boring because that is one of the popular events in France and that it is the only time of the year when there is free-to-air tennis.

"

Not to mention that the 100% digital offer deprives some viewers of the matches.

Antoine thus evokes the puzzle of his parents, accustomed to following Roland-Garros on France Télévisions and who this year find themselves banned from night sessions without a subscription to Amazon Prime.