Roland-Garros will ultimately only be able to accommodate 1,000 spectators per day in 2020. -

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The blur lasted a few hours.

Thursday evening, Prime Minister Jean Castex assured France 2 that it would be applied at Roland Garros "the same rules as elsewhere", that is to say a daily gauge of 1,000 people present on the site.

Did this mean that there could be no audience at all, when the total of accredited people (players, organization, media, etc.) already exceeds 1,000?

Late in the evening, Matignon told AFP that accredited people, "subject to a specific protocol", were in fact not counted.

There will therefore be 1,000 spectators per day authorized to enter to see the matches of the Parisian Grand Slam tournament.

The third cut of the plane

It's always taken, but it will not console Guy Forget.

The tournament director hoped to obtain a waiver to keep the 5,000 spectator gauge.

"We are able to accommodate this population on a 12 hectare stadium", he stressed, insisting on the extension of the site (1 km long).

"We have taken note of the government's decision, we are ready, all the players are there, but it is true that it is a hard blow for the tournament", he declared on the radio this Friday morning , a little annoyed.

This is the third time in less than a month that the tournament has to lower its ambitions.

At the beginning of September, the French Tennis Federation (FFT), which had originally announced a gauge of 20,000 per day, had to increase to 11,500.

It then presented a logic which was based on the division into three “hermetic, independent and autonomous” sectors of its stadium, around its three main courts: the Philippe-Chatrier (5,000 seats), the Suzanne-Lenglen (5,000) and the Simonne-Mathieu (1.500), in the garden of the Auteuil greenhouses.

But, a week ago, Roland-Garros was again forced to tighten the bolts, with 5,000 daily spectators.

Economically, this is not a detail for the FFT and French tennis, very largely irrigated by the tournament, up to 80% in 2019 (255.4 million euros out of a total budget of the FFT of 325 million) .

And while the ticket office generates nearly 20% of tournament revenue.

Less than 3% of total spectators last year

With a tonnage limited to 11,500 spectators, Forget had already estimated that "the proceeds of the tournament (would) be divided by two", which corresponded to a sum between 130 and 140 million euros.

This reduction of the cursor to 1,000 spectators will further increase the shortfall.

And will force the organizers to take new steps at the last minute with ticket holders.

In fifteen days of competition - the qualifying week takes place behind closed doors - only 15,000 spectators will be able to fill the stands throughout the tournament.

Very, very far - less than 3% - of the nearly 520,000 welcomed in 2019.

Sport

Roland-Garros: "More risky to take the metro"… Guy Forget hopes for an exemption to accommodate 5,000 spectators

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