French Open: ‘Terrible’ Move for Ben Shelton Backfires as Tennis Fans Vehemently Call out Injustice

Being one of the most prestigious tournaments on the professional tennis tour, the French Open demands impeccable scheduling. Hordes of fans arrive at Stade Roland Garros to watch the action on the dirt, which requires the best organizing skills. However, the Grand Slam tournament has fallen short this year as Ben Shelton and Kei Nishikori were placed on Court 7. The court itself has no issues, but for players of their caliber, the court did not have enough seats, and fans are not happy about it. 

As crowds lined up outside to watch Shelton play Nishikori, the lines kept increasing. Eventually, the rain washed out the clash but left a lot of fans unhappy. A tennis journalist wrote, “Whoever thought it was a good idea to choose Court 7 for Shelton vs. Nishikori… think again 😂,” which was followed by fans sharing their sadness.  

Players who gain more traction are pushed to courts that have more seating capacity. Shelton and Nishikori are both popular with international audiences for their talents. Hence, a fan believes, “from round 3 he’ll be on Chatrier,” which is the largest court in the venue.

With Kei Nishikori, a former number 24, and Ben Shelton, a former number 14, the two players have garnered a large fanbase. Court 7 was undoubtedly small for a match between two such players, and one fan wished they could’ve been placed on the second largest court. “It was at least Mathieu. Shelton and Nishikori fill this court twice by themselves. You have to follow tennis at a minimum to make a program.”

The French Open is one that draws the most controversy, with Parisian fans being the biggest complaint. Furthermore, it can get difficult for organizers to manage the hordes of people arriving to see the tournament. Watching the fuss, one fan said, “Every year I am like “maybe I should go to RG, it’s close and easy”, then I see pics of people on the grounds and I am like “nah, I’m good”. If AO is the happy Slam, RG is…the miserable Slam?” 

In the last few months, we have seen humungous complaints from fans about the scheduling of Tennis Channel, NBC, and Peacock. The three services have split the coverage of the tournament, but they have not done a great job. Unfortunately, they aren’t the only ones terrible at coverage. “The organisation knows nothing about tennis unfortunatly… Same as the French TV (France TV 🤡🤡).”

Tennis journalist Jose Morgado shared pictures from the Stade Roland Garros as fans with ground passes line up for entry into various courts. The lines seemed never-ending at each entrance, which left one fan frustrated. “Terrible tournament since the tickets sales.”

As the internet shared their frustrations with the management skills of the tournament, the crowd itself has been quite rowdy. One player had to face the wrath of the locale as he faced a player from Lyon.

Stay tuned for more updates…