New Roof, Lights At Roland-Garros To Help With Fall French Open Dates

The pandemic forced the shift of the French Open at Roland-Garros from May to late September, making the completion of a new roof over Philippe-Chatrier court, the largest stadium at the Paris site, all that more important. 

With the smallest footprint of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the French Open was also the only of the four without a retractable roof over any court. But the new roof atop Philippe-Chatrier, completed in time for the original French Open dates, could prove important to keep at least one match flowing no matter the weather when the tournament’s main draw beginning Sept. 27. 

“This roof gives the tournament a whole new dimension,” says Bernard Giudicelli, French Tennis Federation president, “by ensuring that play can continue while providing consistent playing conditions, particularly from the quarterfinals onward.” 

The new roof, with its 11 panes atop 11 trusses, each weighing 363 tons, spans 344 feet and uses canvas to cover the red clay beneath. It took two years to manufacture the trusses in workshops near Venice and a month to set up an assembly plant in the stadium. The eight-month process to assemble the trusses, acoustic panels and canvas completed in 2020. 

Each truss includes two cogged wheels driven by electric motors to close the roof in about 15 minutes. 

“The achievement of this technical and architectural feat is a source of great pride for our nation,” says Giudicelli. “This magnificent tool illustrates our daring and our unceasing desire to build and innovate.” 

Along with the new roof for Philippe-Chatrier, lights make a debut appearance at Roland-Garros. Originally planned for the four largest courts even before the pandemic hit, organizers have since stepped up and lighted 12 courts for the tournament, allowing for longer play on the shorter fall days. 

The largest stadium site on the Paris property, Philippe-Chatrier underwent demolition mere hours after Rafael Nadal took out Dominic Thiem in the 2018 men’s singles final in order to rebuild it for the 2019 tournament. The new stands improved comfort and visibility for up to 15,000 guests, although capacity will be limited in 2020 due to health concerns amidst the pandemic. The rebuild of the seating bowl allowed for a new space for players beneath the stadium, including more space for changing rooms, a warm-up room, player restaurant with its own delicatessen and a tunnel that leads directly to Suzanne-Lenglen court.

Also new in 2019, Roland-Garros opened Simonne-Mathieu court in the southeastern part of the grounds near the Serres d’Auteuil gardens. The third-largest stadium on the Roland-Garros grounds with 5,000 seats, the court comes surrounded by four greenhouses, inspired by the architecture of the adjacent historic Formigé greenhouses. The semi-sunken nature of the court design encourages the stadium to blend into the gardens and greenhouses that house collections of tropical plans from America, Africa, Oceania and Asia.

Replacing the Court 1 “bullring,” the Simonne-Mathieu court follows Philippe-Chatrier and Suzanne-Lenglen courts as the largest on site. Court 1 and 14 represent the next largest venues on site. Last year also welcomed the opening of the Fonds des Princes at the far west of the site with courts 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16. In 2018, the opening of Court 14 joined courts 10 through 13 as competition courts. Courts 15 and 16 are used just for practice. 

Along with the new roof and lights, 2020 also features the opening of courts 2 and 3. Then, in 2021, new courts 6 and 8, the development of new green areas and the Place des Mousquetaires round out the renovations in Paris, a site with a history that dates back over 90 years and a future now made modern by upgrades.