Opinions are unanimous, this edition of Roland-Garros broke all records: attendance, audience and atmosphere. Deprived of the normal conditions of their tournament for two years, the French have regained control of the jewel of the Porte d’Auteuil. And they were spoiled with an exciting first week, probably the most beautiful for ten years. But when there is unanimity, there is a wolf. The wolf of the night session has entered Paris. Very popular in the United States or Australia, these night matches pose a real problem in France, which has neither the habit nor the DNA.
Let’s sum up: around 8:45 p.m., the public at the Philippe-Chartrier is renewed. The lucky holders of evening tickets can attend the meeting of the new nugget of world tennis or the performance of Alizé Cornet. The viewer, accustomed to France 2-France 3, will not see anything. The rights were awarded, after a call for tenders, to Amazon Prime Video (approximately 15 million euros). Ditto for the brand new short Simonne-Mathieu whose images belong to the platform. Nothing to say about this procedure, the American giant has put more money than the public service, nor on the device of the platform – carried by the excellent Frédéric Verdier and Guy Forget. Except that the general public is well and truly deprived of a quality show and a crazy atmosphere.