French Open could leave Roland Garros - official

Nov 3, 8:17 am EST

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PARIS, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The French tennis federation (FFT) is considering to move the French Open out from Roland Garros if its extension project does not get the green light within a year.

The project was agreed on earlier this year and an architect was appointed but the Paris City Council is now getting cold feet, FFT director general Gilbert Ysern said on Tuesday.

“It seems that the mayor’s entourage has become more hostile to our project—which was not the case when we launched it,” Ysern told reporters.

“Add to that the residents’ opposition and we are now forced to look for other options, including that of leaving the premises.”

Last May, tennis officials said a new centre court equipped with a retractable roof would be used at Roland Garros for the French Open by 2013 or 2014.

Of the four grand slam events, the Australian Open has two courts with a roof, while Wimbledon’s Centre Court unveiled its new translucent retractable roof this year.

Paris City Council and the French government were set to invest 20 million euros ($29.26 million) each in the project which is estimated to cost 120 million euros.

Officials at Paris City Council could not be immediately reached for comment.

(Reporting by Chrystel Boulet-Euchin, writing by Julien Pretot; editing by Pritha Sarkar; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Updated Nov 3, 8:17 am EST
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22 Comments

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  1. alice e
    22. Posted by alice e Wed Nov 4 12:56pm EST

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    they do have the old stadium whose name I can't remember and the venue is huge so I guess they'd have to take some trees down from the Bois de Boulogne to built it
    the environmentalist have an insane amount of $ to lobby against it but it will be built
  2. Robbie
    21. Posted by Robbie Wed Nov 4 7:09am EST

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    It seems like the French Tennis Federation is facing the same bureaucratic political problem like the USTA. Both venues are owned by the cities. During the USO we heard there was no decision to build a roof. Cost benefit analysis seems unfavorable. The USTA claimed it’s tough to spend $140 plus million on a roof that will be used once per year. I think the problem is with the city financial experts. There are cash constraints so spending that amount of money is not justified. It seems as if the answers lies in the events getting their own venues and build the facilities to match current and future conditions and expectations. Wimbledon is right on tract.

    It’s a good thing Mayor Dinkins extended the lease for the USTa for 50 years when he left office in the 90s.
  3. Scott J
    20. Posted by Scott J Tue Nov 3 10:52pm EST

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    i agree wholeheartedly with that suggestion erik. they do need to do more to popularise the year-ender on the women's side because it is the biggest event for the women other than the slams. they try but this revolving door format i think is losing people's interest.

    electro,that's what i was thinking too. as good an idea as it may be to have a roof,is it really dire? i mean clay is the best surface you can play on in the rain....it does get heavy but you can actually still perform on it compared with grass and hardcourts.
  4. Scott J
    19. Posted by Scott J Tue Nov 3 10:52pm EST

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    i agree wholeheartedly with that suggestion erik. they do need to do more to popularise the year-ender on the women's side because it is the biggest event for the women other than the slams. they try but this revolving door format i think is losing people's interest.

    electro,that's what i was thinking too. as good an idea as it may be to have a roof,is it really dire? i mean clay is the best surface you can play on in the rain....it does get heavy but you can actually still perform on it compared with grass and hardcourts.
  5. ErikG
    18. Posted by ErikG Tue Nov 3 9:52pm EST

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    Well there was the old "Lipton" Event back in the late 80's, early 90s that was unofficially the fifth "Slam" before it changed its format and became a premier/Masters event. I agree that creating another slam is pointless as the players complain about their schedules enough. More should be done to make the season ending championships more prestigious and entertaining for fans. Right now there are more of an afterthought than anything else.
  6. Eugene
    17. Posted by Eugene Tue Nov 3 9:06pm EST

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    if ever there is another slam it could be in china for simple reason they have money and resources.
    i know players make a lot of money but it looks like they don't have that much free time especially
    the top 20. i guess 10 tournaments including slams is good. too many injuries this year. roof
    is good to have. i don't like to be stewing when i'm watching or getting wet.
  7. electropersona
    16. Posted by electropersona Tue Nov 3 8:49pm EST

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    They've gone mad and are simply suffering from unnecessary envy. The rain really isn't a huge problem for Roland Garros because the tournament is held during an almost purely dry and sunny period in Paris or in France. To even suggest the idea of French Open leaving Roland Garros is sick.
  8. La La Land
    15. Posted by La La Land Tue Nov 3 7:53pm EST

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    Add more slams? Um...what a dumb idea. A slam is a commodity. A commodity gets its value from how rare it is. This is why gold is a high priced commodity and tin is not. Slams get their inherent value from the fact that they are rare. 4 slams all year. We already have the Masters tournaments as a way to have important tournaments in different parts of the world without diluting the value of the Slams. Add a few more Masters if thats whats needed but to have more tha 4 slams would be a disastrous idea.
  9. Mopbrothers
    14. Posted by Mopbrothers Tue Nov 3 7:42pm EST

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    I appreciate the responses to my suggestion of adding more "slams" and admit most responses made a lot of sense. Too many slams would dilute the value, and I had not thought of the fact that a slam is associated with number 4. and yes, it probably would increase the grind on the players, not lessen it.
  10. <i>halosix</i>
    13. Posted by halosix Tue Nov 3 7:20pm EST

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    French Open is awesome. was there in 98. where do they think they are going to move it? bordeaux?
  11. Andrew Broad
    12. Posted by Andrew Broad Tue Nov 3 4:29pm EST

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    The French Open wouldn't be the French Open without the hallowed clay of Roland Garros.
  12. <i>sandrinetestud2000</i>
    11. Posted by sandrinetestud2000 Tue Nov 3 3:04pm EST

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    @ alice e

    "these 4 majors have been around for more then 400 + years and they each have HISTORY,CUSTOMS and PRESTIGE that cannot be bought by any other countries"

    The modern game of lawn tennis originated in the UK during the late 19th century. The first championship at Wimbledon was played in 1877. Moreover, the grandslam calendar wasn't standardized until 1905. Tennis hasn't been around for 400+ years. I understand the argument concerning history, prestige, and customs, but those comments are tempered if you don't actually know tennis history.
  13. LYNNE D
    10. Posted by LYNNE D Tue Nov 3 2:51pm EST

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    It is hard to imagine the clay court slam being anywhere other than in Paris. This stadium needs a roof. That is cheaper than building a new stadium. No, I do not think tennis needs another GS. Four are grueling enough for the players. And another slam will further detract from the other non-GS tournaments, whose importance and status need to be enhanced in order to keep them on the schedule.
  14. Scott J
    9. Posted by Scott J Tue Nov 3 2:38pm EST

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    so where the hell would the french open even go if not at roland garros? and i don't think they have any other venues in paris as large as le stade roland garros. so that would mean players,schedules and the fans would potentially be more cramped and hectic. honestly,the council really needs to get their head out of the gutter and heave forth. if they were so willing to do it before,just do it.

    and as for the adding another "slam"....it's horrid idea,if you ask me. no offense. the idea of having more takes away the prestige of winning the exclusive four. besides,as per made clear,the traditions are much more substantial seeing as the four slams are in historically tennis rich nations. many of the other continents are still very precocious at this juncture. what's more,when we think of slams we think of the contrasts of highly distinct surfaces they're played upon as well. australia had the rebound ace now has plexicushion,paris has clay.wimby grass and us open hard courts....asia and the middle east do not have any surfaces that would distinguish them from any other tournament.
  15. Joy W
    8. Posted by Joy W Tue Nov 3 1:59pm EST

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    They really need a roof especially since they do not have lights on their courts. If it rains steadily for a couple of days, this can put a tremendous hardship on the players because clay is already the most grueling surface. At least at the US Open if the day session is rained out, they can play at night and not get so far behind schedule.
  16. alice e
    7. Posted by alice e Tue Nov 3 1:59pm EST

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    the can add as many Masters Series as they want but adding a 5th "slam" simply ain't gonna happen

    whether in Eastern Europe
    Africa or the Middle East or in Asia it will NEVER happen
  17. Joy W
    6. Posted by Joy W Tue Nov 3 1:55pm EST

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    There is a lot to be said for tradition. I think adding additional grand slams would change the whole dynamics and actually devalue the grand slams. Golf is a very global sport as well but I cannot imagine the governing bodies of golf considering adding additional grand slams even though three of the four are in the United States. Grand slam suggests four. In baseball, when you hit a grand slam you get all four bases. There are Masters 1000 tournaments in Asia and Eastern Europe on the ATP tour and Premier or Tier 1 events in those areas on the WTA tour. Those are big tournaments that bring all the top players just as the grand slams do. A few years ago, there was an attempt to make the tournament held on Key Biscayne (name keeps changing) the fifth major but that failed and I doubt seriously if another will be added anywhere else. Anyway, I hope not.
  18. Mopbrothers
    5. Posted by Mopbrothers Tue Nov 3 12:07pm EST

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    I agree, Alice, about the history and customs. It goes way back. But times change and more people/countries deserve to be included. Tennis is no longer a white, upper class, European sport. I believe, and would like to see, Asia and Eastern Europe included with grand slam tournaments. And I think it would be good for the sport. It seems crude to suggest other countries are trying "to buy" their way in. There is no need for that. They are included because the sport is inclusive. I hope it will happen.
  19. alice e
    4. Posted by alice e Tue Nov 3 11:27am EST

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    to poster 3

    these 4 majors have been around for more then 400 + years and they each have HISTORY,CUSTOMS and PRESTIGE that cannot be bought by any other countries

    not gonna happen and it shouldn't happen either!
  20. Mopbrothers
    3. Posted by Mopbrothers Tue Nov 3 11:22am EST

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    Does anyone else think it might be worthwhile to add two, or even three, more grand slam tournaments to other parts of the world? Definately Asia, and perhaps Eastern Europe (Russia) and maybe Africa or South America. Would this be too radical and upset the history of tennis and the ratings system? France and England are so close now, in modern times. Dare I say I wouldn't mind moving the clay court tournament at Roland to another country------maybe Eastern Europe. Just a thought.
  21. Delores B
    2. Posted by Delores B Tue Nov 3 10:03am EST

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    There goes JUICINE change of winning any FO.
  22. alice e
    1. Posted by alice e Tue Nov 3 9:00am EST

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    I hope these people make up their damn mind because we saw the plans for the new retractable roof
    and the new Center Court and new Lenglen courts and they look magnificent!

    it will be on par with Wimbledon's Center Court no question

    no more rain to worry about either in the "Bull ring" court either

    3 new courts with roofs

    5 more practice courts
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