There have been ramifications after David Goffin was spat at with chewing gum by a fan in the crowd at the 2024 French Open after he defeated Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and said that the tournament was going the way of football.
He said that he doesn't get it at any other tournament and that it was becoming close to smoke bombs and a hooligan type atmosphere. But tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has taken action now with alcohol now being banned from the stands.
As a result of this incident it has now been confirmed that while they can drink out of the courts. But that they cannot drink on the court in a measure to cut down on this type of behaviour. Iga Swiatek also complained last night in her post match speech about crowd members calling out on the rallies with French fans known to be fairly vociferous.
This behaviour has become in particular prevalent it seems on the outside courts with of course, Court Philippe Chatrier attracting a bigger ticket cost and more upper class clientele. But this ban will affect all with a blanket ban on drinking now in place in Paris from today onwards.
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"Clearly, it goes too far, it's total disrespect. It's really too much. 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. Someone spat out their chewing gum at me. It was getting complicated. That's why I wanted to stay calm. If I started to get angry about it, it could have destabilised me."
"A lot of umpires feel that there is a lot of disrespect. This is repeated a lot in the locker room and among the ATP authorities. We're going to have to do something about that.
"I think it only happens in France. At Wimbledon, obviously, there's not that. Or in Australia either. At the US Open, it's still rather quiet. Here, it's a really unhealthy atmosphere."
"Alcohol was allowed until now in the stands – not in all the stands – that’s over," she said. "If anyone exceeds the limit, if anyone doesn’t behave well or if anyone throws things at the players, that's it, they go out. Safety - it's very clear - the instructions are given and there will be no hesitation," said Mauresmo.
“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.
“But yes, definitely there are steps that they shouldn't go further [than]. So a few things have been put in place: first of all, the umpires really going to be even more strict to further respect to the players and respect the game. So this is something that we're not going to tolerate, to overstep these two things. That's for sure. So umpires have quite an important role in this matter.”
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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