A second retractable roof at Roland Garros will open on the opening day of next month's French Open, a project planned with the Paris Olympics in mind, organizers said Thursday.
Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo told a news conference that the ceremony for the roof of the 10,000-seat Suzanne Lenglen Stadium will begin on May 26 in the main draw.
Before the start of the two-week tournament, the roof can be closed if it rains during the qualifying rounds in the previous six days.
The main 15,000-seat Philippe Chatrier court has a retractable roof from 2020.
„It's a court that will help us a lot,” Mauresmo said, calling it the „most visible new feature” of the 2024 tournament.
Mauresmo praised the new roof for providing more flexibility in scheduling matches and ensuring games are played to 25,000 fans at the stadium and a worldwide TV audience.
The two rooftop courts will help the Olympics run as scheduled from July 27-Aug. At the Paris Games 4. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the events were held on open fields Affected by burning heat and humidity.
Rafael Nadal is a 14-time men's singles champion in clay court Grand Slam events. suspected On Wednesday the 37-year-old will be ready for Roland Garros as he deals with injuries.
“We're crossing our fingers for him and for ourselves. He's at home, he knows it,” Mauresmo said, hours before Nadal took the court at the Madrid Open. „We'll wait to see what happens and follow his wishes.”
Although Nadal is the greatest player of all time at Roland Garros, Mauresmo is not yet ready to make a special case for him in the rankings as he has dropped to 512th in the rankings. Wimbledon offered preferred seeding for grass-court specialist players. .
„It's brought some advantages, but it's also brought some disadvantages,” Mauresmo said of seeding based on a player's history instead of current ranking. „So it's not a subject on the table yet.”
If Nadal is unseeded, he will be drawn to face any other player in the first round, including long-time rival and defending champion Novak Djokovic or two-time major champion Carlos Algarz.
Nadal, an Olympic gold medalist in singles and doubles, is expected to be at Roland Garros for the Summer Games, and French tennis federation official Stephane Morel suggested he could play doubles with Alcaraz.
Roland Garros also hosts the boxing finals during the second week of the Olympics. Mauresmo said the added attractions only had a positive effect on demand for the French Open.
With an expected daily attendance of 75,000, the matches sold out in the first week and around 650,000 over the three weeks, including the qualifiers.
The Paris Olympics are going underground to find a way to keep athletes cool without air conditioners at the 2024 Games.
„Całkowity introwertyk. Nieprzejednany specjalista od sieci. Przyjazny fanatyk bekonu. Student ekstremalnych. Miłośnik piwa. Organizator.”