By Julia Baudin, for TV Magazine
Published on 06/10/2023 at 16:33, Updated on 06/12/2023 at 14:56
Laurent Luyat, in 2022 © Eric VERNAZOBRES – FTV
Tennis consultant for twenty years, the commentator deplores the absenteeism in the stands.
The reality is sometimes brutal… This Friday, on the eve of the pivotal weekend of the 2023 Roland-Garros tournament, the consultants of France Télévisions were surprised, even scandalized, at the observation of a short “far from full”, which is also the Philippe-Chatrier court, also known as the central court. Following a stoppage in the second men’s semi-final of the tournament, which pitted Alexander Zverev against Casper Ruud, Laurent Luyat said to himself “a little surprised“to see that the stadium is not full, adding:”people bought tickets for this match, it means ‘I have a ticket but I’m not coming to see the match’“. From the terrace overlooking the court, Justine Hénin and Patrick Mouratoglou also reacted. “It’s far from full.“said the former Belgian tennis champion. And the sports journalist to add: “Far from being full … because the spectators bought a ticket only for this match, we remember it. It’s not for the two semi-finals but just for this semi-final so it’s quite surprising. Yesterday, for the women’s semi-finals, it was the same thing. There were many many free places. I can’t understand the principle of having a ticket and not coming to see the match”.
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“It is true that it is incomprehensible. It’s even more surprising because I know how difficult it is to buy a ticket to Roland-Garros. I have lots of friends who wanted to buy some. Impossible to find in ticket. That these people who do not come, do something with their ticket“, retorted the famous coach (Simona Aleppo, Serena Williams, Stefanos Tsitsipas…), Patrick Mouratoglou. It is true that places at Roland-Garros are expensive and that all tennis enthusiasts dream of it. How to explain all these empty seats? The unexpected heat? Quotas of seats sold, oversold or unsold? The international influence of the event which would encourage the happy few to acquire places without any real intention of participating? A manifest disinterest of the French public after the elimination of the 28 tricolor players engaged in the two tables? A disconcerting spectacle. Especially since the Parisian tournament would break sales records with 620,000 tickets sold in 2022. It remains to be seen what will happen this weekend, while all the matches are being played.
2023-06-10 07:00:00
#ticket #coming #Laurent #Luyats #rant
