Paris (AFP)

Roland-Garros had to revise its ambitions downwards but the Parisian Grand Slam, exceptionally rescheduled in the fall (September 27-October 11) due to the Covid-19, will nevertheless welcome up to 11,500 spectators per day, instead of the 20,000 he hoped for.

Since Prime Minister Jean Castex declared at the end of August that it would no longer be "possible for the prefectural authority to derogate" from the maximum level of 5,000 people "in the red departments, that is to say where there is has strong viral circulation ", especially in Ile-de-France, we wondered what would happen to Roland-Garros.

Would the rule be applied to the letter, forcing the tournament to severely review its copy, or would it benefit from an exceptional regime?

The organizers of the French Grand Slam ended up providing the answer within three weeks of its kickoff.

To comply with this health rule, the logic they defended has been retained: the 12 hectare complex, which extends for about 1 km in the west of Paris, will be "divided" into "three independent sub-areas. from each other and autonomous from the point of view of public reception, "explained the Director General of the French Tennis Federation (FFT), Jean-François Vilotte, during a press videoconference.

This will allow a maximum of 11,500 spectators per day to access it.

With compulsory mask wearing even seated in stands.

- Three "independent" sectors -

The first sector, around the Philippe-Chatrier court, will accommodate 5,000 spectators maximum and will include the annex courts N.2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9. The second will be organized around the Suzanne-Lenglen court, with a limited capacity to 5,000 people also and the land annexed to the Fonds des Princes.

The third will be limited to the Simone-Matthieu court, nestled in the garden of the Auteuil greenhouses.

An option validated by the French authorities which "seems responsible and reasonable to date", considers Vilotte, not excluding new adjustments if the health situation were to deteriorate.

"These three distinct, independent and autonomous spaces will be hermetic from the point of view of flow management", he insists.

On the other hand, there will be no public during the qualifications, nor tickets dedicated only to the short annexes.

Roland-Garros will now contact ticket holders to explain the new conditions to them and "offer them the necessary arrangements according to their wishes", specifies Vilotte, with reimbursement if necessary.

In total, in fifteen days of competition, less than 150,000 spectators are expected.

Around only a quarter of the nearly 520,000 welcomed in 2019 throughout the Parisian fortnight.

- The sanitary bubble, "a fantasy" -

Economically, it is far from being a detail for the FFT and French tennis, very largely irrigated by Roland-Garros.

Up to 80% in 2019 (255.4 M EUR out of a total budget of the FFT of 325 M EUR).

Concretely, the proceeds of the tournament will be halved, assesses its director Guy Forget, which corresponds to some 140 million euros.

And the players in all of this?

Strictly speaking, "no health bubble", the organizers said in chorus.

Like an echo of the procrastination born on the other side of the Atlantic, in the middle of the US Open behind closed doors and whose so-called bubble quickly burst.

But the obligation, "without exception", to stay in one of the "two hotels near Roland-Garros reserved (...) almost exclusively" by the organization of the tournament.

"We don't reason (like) in a science fiction film, in terms of an airtight health bubble, it's a fantasy. (...) There is no illusion of a magical place where we would be protected from everything, "insists Vilotte.

"What we are putting in place is to absolutely minimize the risks (...), he defends. But the principle of responsibility is the respect by all of the barrier gestures, it is the only way to protect your health and the health of people you meet. "

© 2020 AFP