Forget blue clay, the French Open needs lights, ASAP!

  • Thread starter Deleted member 25923
  • Start date
D

Deleted member 25923

Guest
It's unfortunate that so many matches at the French are suspended due to dark. I mean, come on, the purse for the tournament goes up and yet they can't install lights?

RG needs lights to help preserve the quality of the tennis and for the health of the players who will need to adjust themselves due to long matches and scheduling conflicts.
 
firepanda

firepanda

Professional
Acutally, where does that money go? Most tournaments, after prize money, expenditures and wages, tend to have a bit left over to make upgrades. I'm pretty sure RG doesn't have a roof over Phillipe Chatrier either.
 
S

svijk

Semi-Pro
lights are definitely needed & are much cheaper than building a roof ...FO is the most outdated GS
 
S

sanimej

New User
vaguely remembering seeing a news that a new facility is being constructed and FO will move to the new facility in couple of years. is that correct ? may be the new facility will have lighted courts ?
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
They already can play until 9:30 at night, seems like enough to me. Suspending matches seems less silly to me than having matches going until 1 AM under lights, more disruptive to player schedules than finishing the next day. Europeans understand pace of living far better than Americans and Australians.
 
jmverdugo

jmverdugo

Hall of Fame
everybody agrees, even the FFT and yes they have plans for putting lights and a roof, I think construction starts right after the tournament is over? not sure though.
 
A

ashitaka2010

Semi-Pro
svijk said:
lights are definitely needed & are much cheaper than building a roof ...FO is the most outdated GS
Click to expand...

Blablabla.... Stop whining people it's OLD NEWS.


New stadium
court_des_serres-sport-tennis-1249229.jpg


Chatrier
central_couvert_2-sport-tennis-1249230.jpg


I'm sure they won't forget the lights.
 
big_bill

big_bill

Rookie
Tennis is still in the dark ages (no pun intended). Domeless Arthur Rash and the Lightless "City of Lights" are an EMBARASSMENT to professional sports in the modern era :cry: .
 
clayman2000

clayman2000

Hall of Fame
ollinger said:
They already can play until 9:30 at night, seems like enough to me. Suspending matches seems less silly to me than having matches going until 1 AM under lights, more disruptive to player schedules than finishing the next day. Europeans understand pace of living far better than Americans and Australians.
Click to expand...

Considering Europeans by and large stay up later and start work later than Americans, I find that kind of ironic.


Id rather be up till 1 playing a match, than have to come back the next day and then get no day off.
 
C

chrischris

G.O.A.T.
All ATP tournys should have a standard lightmeter reading and new benchmark as to when its too dark to play on.
Not that hard to implement really.
That way its fair for all !
 
tennis_pro

tennis_pro

Bionic Poster
I say, if there's a chance of a match finishing within an hour after 9:30 p.m. then put the lights on and let the guys finish. When there's like another 2 sets to be played (like Berdych-De Potro) then it's a bit pointless - put them as early as possible the next day and postpone the winner's next round match as late as possible the other day so he gets enough rest.

It's absolute crazyness to suspend a match when it's 4-2 in the final set and there's like another 10 minutes or so needed to finish it. Come on now!
 
D

decades

Guest
firepanda said:
Acutally, where does that money go? Most tournaments, after prize money, expenditures and wages, tend to have a bit left over to make upgrades. I'm pretty sure RG doesn't have a roof over Phillipe Chatrier either.
Click to expand...

the real problem is they don't start the matches early enough. I guess the players don't like to play before 11a and the spectators won't show up that early. But that's the simplest solution. Most matches would finish with another hour of play.

It's not the money from the tournament. the french tennis federation is funded by the french government. the upgrades to the facilities are handled by FTF and French Gov. Similar to USTA. They probably want to maintain tradition. They seem to put tennis in it's proper perspective. it's just a game.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
skip1969

skip1969

G.O.A.T.
they had 10 and a half hours of play today. that's a long day any way you slice it. heck, even for a tsonga match, the place had cleared out by the fifth set. chatrier was half full. not everybody wants to have lunch and dinner at a sporting event.

sometimes, it rains . . . sometimes, matches last forever . . . sometimes, it gets dark . . . baseball games get called for weather, soccer matches get called for weather. any sport played outdoors is subject to mother nature.

if there were lights in chatrier, you guys would b*tch that there weren't lights at lenglen for delpo and berd. if it was raining cats and dogs, you'd b*tch for roofs. if there was one covered court at rg, you'd b*tch for more. but truthfully, you just can't plan for every contingency.
 
TopFH

TopFH

Hall of Fame
Well, they should have lights on both their main show courts for exceptions like Tsonga-Wawrinka. I mean, they had maybe half an hour left to play, not much more.
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
clayman
OECD study a few years ago showed the French sleep more than any other western society (average 8.8 hours) and also spend about double the time of most western societies at meals. That was my point -- the French have other priorities, better priorities perhaps, and probably don't want their tennis tournament running until all hours of the morning.
 
D

Deleted member 25923

Guest
I'd much rather play until 2 AM and keep my rhythm than come in the next day after a day of rest and mulling over the match.
 
Evan77

Evan77

Banned
they suck. I'm really so disappointed for what Berdych and DP have to go through. k, tradition, no roof, fine with me ... but lights, give me a break.
 
penpal

penpal

Semi-Pro
If we're voting for how we'd like to prioritize proposed improvements, then my vote is for Shot Spot.

And not just on the stadium courts at the French Open - I want to see it added on every court at every ATP tour event. <rant>It's astounding to me that in a major international professional sport, different players at the same event are expected to play by different rules.</rant>
 
McLovin

McLovin

Legend
sanimej said:
vaguely remembering seeing a news that a new facility is being constructed and FO will move to the new facility in couple of years. is that correct ? may be the new facility will have lighted courts ?
Click to expand...

I'm shocked so many people here aren't aware of the scheduled improvements. This was big news last year when they were considering moving the whole tournament to a new location, but chose to do improvements instead:

From the article:
The new centre court area is set to become a veritable showcase which conforms to the latest levels of comfort for everyone using the stadium, in particular the players and the spectators. It will also be fitted with a retractable roof which will enable play to continue despite the rain and also for night sessions to be held.​

Of course, we'll have to wait until 2017 for the improvements...
 
TennisLovaLova

TennisLovaLova

Hall of Fame
I tought there was an issue concerning les serres, a garden they want to protect from any modification...
Clay GS should go to madrid with blue clay
 
M

Moose Malloy

G.O.A.T.
Tournament director Gilbert Ysern says change isn't coming until 2017, when a retractable roof and lights are slated to be installed at the main stadium at Roland Garros.

"It's a topic that is a bit sensitive,'' Ysern said in a telephone interview Monday. ``We have a complex that has been approved for competition during the day, not at night. We are not allowed to play at night. That's what the law says.''

Ysern said the tournament has looked into the possibility of adding lights to courts other than its main one.

"But today, we still don't have an answer,'' he said.

Ysern explained there are various factors - including security - that must be taken into account when deciding whether to add nighttime play at the French Open.
Click to expand...

http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=18060&zoneid=4
 
SwankPeRFection

SwankPeRFection

Hall of Fame
You know what would get the point across? If EVERYONE in the stands brought flashlights and turn them on and pointed them at the court when it gets dark out and the chair looks like they're going to call the match. That would make some press and show how stupid they are for not having lights. But alas, the French wouldn't do that to themselves... they don't have the same sarcastic style that some of us do.
 
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