Tennis viewers of French Open Championship were banned from drinking alcohol in the stands of Roland Garros Belgian star David Goffen’s complaint that a fan spat at him with a chewing gun.
Organizers reacted quickly after Goffen complained about the “disrespectful” crowd on Court 14 when he beat home favorite Giovanni Mpetshi Perikar in five sets on Tuesday.
Spectators will no longer be allowed to drink in their seats, with tournament director Amelie Mauresmo also saying on Thursday that security measures have been stepped up and umpires have been told to be tougher on unruly crowd behaviour.
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“Alcohol has been allowed in the stands until now. It’s over now,” Moresmo said.
Goffen complained that a spectator had spit gum at him.
“We are happy that people are very enthusiastic about watching tennis and being part of the matches, showing feelings and emotions, but there are definitely steps that should not go further. A few things had to be put in place,” Moresmo continued.
“Referees will really be even more strict to respect the players and the game even more.”
“That’s something we’re not going to tolerate, to cross those two things. That’s for sure. So judges have quite an important role to play in this matter.
“And definitely in terms of security, we’re going to try to see which people are maybe causing problems, because I think at some point a few people go overboard.”
Moresmo said authorities are still trying to identify the person who spat gum at Goffen, but added that spectators were thrown out at this year’s event.
The behavior of the home fans has been a hot topic at Roland Garros this year, with women’s champion Iga Svetek even making a tender plea to the fans for shouting during rallies in her epic win over Naomi Osaka on Wednesday.
Daniil Medvedev smiled about the difficulty of playing against French players in front of their home fans, but suggested it was no worse than playing against an Australian in Melbourne.
“I think playing against French people (against) Roland Garros is not easy, that’s for sure. A lot of players are experiencing it,” he said on Thursday.
“I would say that the US Open and Wimbledon are not the same. Australia can be tough. I played with Thanasi (Kokinakis) once there (in 2018) on the small court. It was, ugh, brutal!
“It’s good to have energy between points, but then when you’re ready to serve, it’s OK, let’s get it over with and play tennis.”
