French Open bans alcohol from the stands following rowdy behavior by fans
Organizers of the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments in professional tennis, banned alcohol sales for fans following a week of rowdy behavior in the stands.
“Alcohol was until now authorized in the stands. Now it’s over,” tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said, according to CNBC. “The umpires are really going to be even more strict to further respect to the players and respect the game.”
No one with the French Open could immediately be reached by NBC News for comment Thursday afternoon.
Former No. 1 player Mauresmo’s remarks were prompted by raucous behavior by revelers in the stands during the first week of the tournament at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris.
Belgian David Goffin said Wednesday a fan spat gum at him during his five-set victory over France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, CNBC reported.
Also Wednesday, the world’s No. 1 women’s player, Iga Swiatek, asked fans to hush during points in her hard-fought win against Naomi Osaka.
Mauresmo said the move to bar spectators from drinking while they watched the tournament was about respecting the players and the game, CNBC reported.
“This is something that we’re not going to tolerate, to overstep these two things. That’s for sure. So umpires have quite an important role in this matter,” she said. “And definitely in terms of security, we’re going to try to see which people are maybe making [trouble], because I think it’s a few individuals at some point that are overstepping.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Open said in a statement Thursday: “There are no plans to ban alcohol sales to spectators at the 2024 US Open.”
That tournament, in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York, is scheduled for late August until early September.
The French Open, played on clay, and the U.S. Open, played on a hardcourt surface, are among the four most prestigious tournaments in the sport. The others are the Australian Open, played on a hard surface, and Wimbledon, which is played on grass.
