French Open plays catch-up as foul weather wreaks havoc

Polish nationals Pavel and Justina were so thrilled with their experience at the French Open last year that they rushed to buy tickets for the 2024 edition as soon as sales opened in March.  

They did not expect to manage just one match over two days – broken up into short spells of play and longer stretches of waiting in the rain. 

Travelling from Gdansk with their daughter Maria, the trio saw just one hour of action on Court Simonne-Mathieu on Wednesday before rain stopped play, with their favourite Hubert Hurkacz a set down against Brandon Nakashima.  

They returned the next day to see the No.8 seed from Poland clinch the following two sets, only for rain to again force an interruption with the players tied at 5-5 in the fourth. 

“Last year was a real treat, but it’s been very frustrating this time,” said Pavel, wrapped in warm, waterproof clothing. “They’ve got sunshine and 28 degrees Celsius back in Poland, but the weather’s been filthy here in Paris.” 

A protracted stretch of cold and wet weather has wreaked havoc at the French major, creating a huge backlog of matches and forcing organisers to refund thousands of ticket holders. 

The foul weather has resulted in a very different experience for visitors with ordinary tickets and the lucky few with admission to courts Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen, the two showpiece arenas with retractable roofs, where play has proceeded without interruption.  

On Wednesday, Pavel and his family ended up watching another Pole, the women’s defending champion Iga Swiatek, battle it out with Japan’s Naomi Osaka on Philippe Chatrier – albeit on television from their hotel room.

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The sight of many empty seats in the VIP stands, a common grievance at this and other Grand Slam tournaments, added insult to injury. 

“It was infuriating to see all those empty seats on the telly,” said Pavel. “Why not give them to those like us who paid to watch some tennis?” 

‘Rain is hardly a surprise in Paris’ 

French Open organisers had crammed more than 50 singles matches into Thursday’s schedule, hoping to make up for the huge delays caused by relentless rain the day before. By late afternoon, however, they had completed just two matches on the outside courts, one of them owing to the retirement of Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic, who was facing the No.5 seed Daniil Medvedev. 

With further delays likely, tournament director Amélie Mauresmo said play would begin at 10am on Friday on all courts, an hour earlier than usual and two hours before matches normally start on Philippe Chatrier.

Disgruntled fans were not the only ones to complain about the soggy weather, which is taking its toll on players too.  

At the post-match press conferences, several players have stressed the difficulty of adapting to the wet conditions, which make the balls slower and heavier on what is already the most gruelling surface in tennis.  

Some, like America’s Taylor Fritz, have complained about being shunted from one court to another at short notice as organisers scramble to fit more matches into the rare spells of dry weather.  

Former champion Stanislas Wawrinka, the oldest player in the men’s draw at 39, battled into the night on Wednesday after his second-round clash with Russia’s Pavel Kotov was added to an already full schedule on court Suzanne Lenglen. It was well past midnight when the Swiss eventually bowed out in a fourth-set tie-break. 

There were even later finishes the next night as organisers raced to wrap up the second round amid a dry spell of weather – at the cost of banishing former world number one Victoria Azarenka to tiny court 12 for her thrilling clash with rising star Mirra Andreeva, who eventually prevailed at one o’clock in the morning.

Unveiled this year, Lenglen’s elegant new roof has seen plenty of action already, justifying its cost of €29 million. 

“The obvious solution would be to put roofs on the other courts, too,” said French Open regular Sebastien, wrapped in a waterproof poncho.  

“It’s true it’s been particularly bad this year, but rain is hardly a surprise in Paris,” he added. “You never know whether you’ll need a cap, an umbrella, sun cream or all three.” 

Good for business 

Lisbon-based Rita, who travelled to Paris with her two children aged 5 and 10, described their experience at Roland Garros as a “race against the rain”.  

She was hoping to watch Portugal’s Nuno Borges partner with Arthur Rinderknech of France in the men’s doubles. But that match – along with the rest of the doubles draw – was once again postponed, this time until Friday. 

“I’ve basically spent the day looking at the weather and French Open apps on my phone, hoping for play to resume,” she said, lamenting a dearth of activities for kids on a wet day. She added: “There’s not much we can do now other than shop for souvenirs and eat over-priced sandwiches.” 

Long lines for the tennis courts are normally a fixture of the French Open, but by far the longest queue on Thursday led to “La Grande Boutique”, the largest of several stores at Roland Garros, selling everything from tennis rackets to jewelry, polo shirts and the Paris major’s signature Panama hats. 

Staff there were among the few not complaining about the foul weather, which means more business for shops. 

“It’s a shame for visitors, of course, but stop-and-go days like this one are actually the best for us,” explained a shop attendant who declined to give her name. “You need some play, or else people go home, and then the odd shower to send them our way when play stops.” 

Alternating sunny and rainy weather is an even better combination, the shop attendant added. 

“This week we’ve been selling mostly umbrellas, ponchos and blankets,” she explained. “But if the weather improves next week, we can get those Panama hats off the racks too.” 

It was a very different picture down at the ice cream parlour, where Julie and her two colleagues stood shivering in the cold waiting for customers to show up. 

“We’d normally have about 30 people in the queue, but we’ve been washed out the past two days,” she said. “Who would want an ice cream in this weather?”