PARIS — Spectators will not be allowed to drink alcohol in the stands at Roland Garros after crowd trouble during the opening rounds of the French Open.
Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo addressed the crackdown on fan behavior Thursday after both David Goffin and Iga Swiatek had issues with spectators during their matches, including Goffin saying a spectator spat chewing gum at him in his first-round win over France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
“Alcohol was allowed until now in the stands — not in all the stands — that’s over,” Mauresmo said. “If they exceed the limit, if they don’t behave well or if they throw things at the players, that’s it.”
Spectators can still drink in the concourses and areas around the stands, just not next to the court — unlike the three other Grand Slams. This is one tactic as Mauresmo and the French Open tighten security measures at Roland Garros.
“First of all, we are happy that people are very enthusiastic about watching tennis, about being part of the matches, about feeling emotions and showing emotions,” Mauresmo said. “But yes, definitely there are steps that they shouldn’t go further [than].
“Few things have been put in place: First of all, the umpires really going to be even more strict to further respect the players and respect the game. 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. And definitely in terms of security, we’re going to try to see which people … are overstepping. So these individuals … try to calm them down or they go out. If they go too far, they go out.”
Mauresmo left the option open for further measures if these initial steps don’t improve the atmosphere on court.
“Let’s see how it goes with the [umpires] being a little bit more strict. Let’s see how it goes with the security being also a little bit more strict,” she said. “And I don’t want to be negative and I’m an optimist. I’m really trying to see that people are going to react in a good way and that it’s going to be OK, and if it’s not, we will take other the measures.”
Goffin noted a better environment during his 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-2 loss to Alexander Zverev in the second round.
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