After complaints from players regarding unruly behaviour of fans, French Open organisers have announced a ban on alcohol in the stands to prevent any further disruption from spectators at the ongoing 2024 edition. The move comes a day after Belgian star David Goffin alleged that a fan spat at him during his second-round match versus Alexander Zverev. Earlier, world number one and defending women’s singles champion, Iga Swiatek, also complained of fans yelling between serves and highlighted how it affected her game during her thrilling three-set win in the second-round over Naomi Osaka.

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In this regard, the tournament director Mauresmo said, as quoted by Reuters, “First of all, we are happy people are very enthusiastic about watching tennis and being part of the matches, showing feeling and emotions.”

“But there are definitely steps which shouldn’t go further. A few things have needed to be put in place. Alcohol was allowed until now in the stands, but that’s over… If they exceed the limit, if they don’t behave well or if they throw things at the players, that’s it.”

Talking about Swiatek-Osaka match, the fans enjoyed a great game between the two stars but their behaviour certainly wasn’t well received by the world number one. Swiatek was visibly upset during the course of the match as a few fans at the Philippe-Chatrier kept shouting in between serves. This prompted the chair umpire to step in on multiple occasions, delaying the proceedings.

‘The stakes are big and there’s lot of money here to win’

After the game, Swiatek stated, “When you scream something during the rally or right before the return, it’s really, really hard to be focused. This is serious for us, we’re fighting our whole lives to be better and better and sometimes it’s just hard to accept that.”

“The stakes are big and there’s lot of money here to win. Losing a few points may change a lot. Please, guys, if you can support us between the rallies but not during, that would be really, really amazing.”

Ever since this year’s French Open kicked off, fans’ behaviour has made heads turn with many instances of disruptions from the stands being reported by players. A fan who spat at Goffin has not been identified. However, the organisers at the Roland Garros have come up with stricter measures — including the ban on alcohol — to allow the game to run smoothly without complaints from players.

Talking about the 2024 edition, so far many big players have impressed with Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Zverev, Casper Ruud, Carlos Alcaraz, etc. proceeding ahead. On the other hand, the likes of Rafael Nadal, Osaka, Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka have bowed out of the mega event.

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