The French Open recently announced that pickleball courts would be set up on Court No. 5 at the Stade Roland Garros and would be accessible to the public. Several fans were not particularly happy with the announcement.
The tournament released a report in late April that mentioned the new arrival of pickleball at its venue. The report suggested that three courts will be set up from May 26 to June 1 on Court 5. The courts would be accessible to public from June 6 to June 9.
In a new report, it has now been mentioned that the president of French Tennis Federation Gilles Moretton, and French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo would inaugurate the courts.
Fans were left displeased with the announcement, with one saying that people did not like pickleball.
“I genuinely don’t know anybody who likes pickleball. The online consensus seems to be overwhelming hatred. So how is pickleball even growing at all? Who is funding it? Who is watching it? One of the greatest mysteries of our time,” one fan wrote.
“Oh f**k off. I’m gonna call you that stupid name Rolly G from now on, Rolly G,” another fan wrote.
One fan called the French Open “a joke”.
“Roland Garros is a total joke,” a third fan wrote.
“Full on board with everyone who called this the worst slam now,” wrote yet another.
Here are some more fan reactions to the French Open’s pickleball announcement:
“This is not how you solve the empty seats issue,” wrote one fan.
“Feels like an April Fool’s joke,” another fan wrote.
“Nooo I refuse to believe that. We have no culture/interest for Pickleball,” wrote yet another.
The French Open has been criticized by players due to its scheduling
Defending champion Novak Djokovic’s third-round match at the French Open finished after 3:00 am local time on Sunday, June 2. He was back on the court on Monday, June 3, evening for his fourth-round match.
He suffered a knee injury during the clash against Francisco Cerundolo which eventually led to him withdrawing from the tournament.
Several players have made their feelings known about the tournament’s scheduling. Ons Jabeur mentioned Djokovic’s late-night finish and said that playing so late wasn’t good for the players.
“Playing that late for men after midnight is not a good thing. We saw yesterday how Novak was suffering with his knee. And this, because he couldn’t really recover well? I think for all players, men, women, we deserve better than that,” Jabeur said.
Even former World No. 1 John McEnroe slammed the French Open scheduling calling it a “huge mistake”.
“Putting Djokovic, 37, on the court at 10:30 PM (against Musetti in the third round), without knowing how long his match would last, was a huge mistake on the part of the organization,” McEnroe said.
The French Open has reached its semifinal stages. In women’s singles, Iga Swiatek will face Coco Gauff while Jasmine Paolini will be up against Mirra Andreeva. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will play in one men’s singles semifinal while the other will be contested by Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev.
