French Open tournament director Amélie Mauresmo has announced a ban on alcohol in the stands at Roland Garros. The move comes following a complaint by Belgian player David Goffin who said a fan spit gum at him during a first-round match.
World number 1 women’s player Iga Swiatek also pleaded with the crowd after her match because they were being disruptive during points.
Mauresmo isn’t taking any chances on the behavior continuing. While alcohol will still be available on the concourses and around the grounds, it will not be served in the stands while watching a match.
“Alcohol was allowed until now in the stands — not in all the stands — that’s over,” Mauresmo said, as per an ESPN report. “If they exceed the limit, if they don’t behave well or if they throw things at the players, that’s it.”
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Alcohol Leading To Wild Behavior At French Open
Goffin claimed a spectator spat chewing gum at him in his first-round win over France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
“Clearly, it goes too far, it’s total disrespect. It’s really too much,” he said. “It’s becoming football, soon there will be smoke bombs, hooligans and there will be fights in the stands.”
“It’s starting to become ridiculous. Some people are there more to cause trouble than to create an atmosphere.”
Following his second-round loss to Alexander Zverev, Goffin said the environment was much better.
Swiatek meanwhile, addressed the crowd following her defeat of Naomi Osaka in the same round.
“Sometimes under a lot of pressure when you scream something during the rally or right before the return, it’s really, really hard to be focused,” Swiatek said on court. “This is serious for us. We are fighting our whole lives to be better and better. Sometimes it’s hard to accept that. The stakes are big. There is a lot of money to win. The few points may change a lot.
“So please, guys, if you can support us between the rallies, not during, that would be really, really amazing.”
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Other Security Measures
Mauresmo says that addressing the alcohol problem at the French Open is just one of several measures being taken to curb rowdy fan behavior.
Officials are allowing stricter enforcement by umpires and implementing increased security on-site.
“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].”
The move to limit alcohol at a grand slam tennis event comes just weeks after the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines announced plans to sell alcohol inside the Big House for the first time.
What could possibly go wrong with 107,000 liquored-up, body paint-inhaling college kids jam-packed into an arena on a Saturday? I can tell you one thing – gum might be the least of their worries.
One famous incident might portend the potential effects of combining too much alcohol with sports fans. One of the most famous MLB promotions of all time – 10-cent beer night at Cleveland Stadium in 1974.
The infamous 10 Cent Beer Night took place in a game against the Texas Rangers.
The event offered fans unlimited beer for just 10 cents per cup, leading to a chaotic situation where drunken fans disrupted the game, including incidents of streaking, throwing objects onto the field, and eventually storming the field in the ninth inning, forcing the game to be forfeited.
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