Why are there so many empty seats at Roland-Garros?
Facts checked November 2, 2026 by the French Open Insider editorial team
Short answer
Because many ticket holders are somewhere else at the time: at lunch, in hospitality lounges or not yet arrived, especially for 11:00 starts in the first week. Reporters have pointed most often at the corporate boxes on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The seats are sold, so gaps on TV do not mean tickets are available, and 2026 still set an attendance record of more than 727,000.
Who is missing from the empty seats?
The gaps are usually sold seats whose holders are elsewhere. Reuters reported in 2018 that the stands are often half-empty "from around 1130 am until 3 pm", and AP in 2025 called empty sections "a common sight in the early hours at the French Open, when many ticket holders opt for lunch or arrive later in the day".
Corporate seating is the second reason. In 2023 Reuters found the corporate boxes "mostly empty" at a men's semi-final, adding that "lunch or an aperitif has always been a priority for most of the hospitality guests". In 2025 the Belgian broadcaster RTBF said companies and sponsors buy many seats for VIP clients who do not always come, and those seats are not reassigned.
Long days are the third. Tournament director Amélie Mauresmo said in 2024 that people will not stay in their seat for "5, 6, 7 hours, or even more" (translated from French).
What have the organizers said about empty seats?
| Year | Who | What was said |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | FFT spokesperson, to Reuters | "The problem arises especially during the first week, with games starting at 11 am." |
| 2019 | FFT president Bernard Giudicelli, to Reuters | "If we only sold general tickets without any hospitality services, it would be a threat to the economy of the tournament." |
| 2024 | Tournament director Amélie Mauresmo | "We're not satisfied." Asked why ticket holders stay away: "Who knows? I'm not in their heads." Quoted by Media365 in May 2024: "je ne veux plus voir les loges vides" (I don't want to see empty boxes any more). |
| 2024 | FFT president Gilles Moretton | "We can't force people to go to the stands." On the second men's semi-final: "It's disappointing and obviously unacceptable." |
| 2025 | Amélie Mauresmo, to PA | "We are aware of this, and we will definitely work on the solutions that we can find for the future." |
| 2026 | FFT end-of-tournament review, June 7 | No mention of empty seats; a record attendance of more than 727,000 was announced. |
Has Roland-Garros tried to fill the empty seats?
Two fixes have been tried. Annexe Up let FFT licence holders take empty main-court seats until the ticket holder arrived; Reuters said in 2023 it had not been renewed. In 2024, Upgrade Chatrier let outside-court, Suzanne-Lenglen and Simonne-Mathieu ticket holders use Chatrier's lower stands in free seating until the Chatrier ticket holders arrived. Neither has been announced for 2027.
Were there empty seats in 2026?
We found no 2026 player complaint. The widely shared story of Aryna Sabalenka playing to empty seats is from 2025, when her 11:00 quarter-final against Zheng Qinwen led her to say "it was a big match and probably would make more sense to put us a little bit later just so more people could watch it."
In 2026, Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim wrote on May 27 that "prime seats behind the baseline are nearly empty", blaming the heat (33°C, or 91°F, on the first days). PA called the June 1 night session between Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka a "full house", and attendance set a record of more than 727,000.
What does this mean if you buy a ticket?
- Your seat is still yours. A gap on TV is usually a sold seat; even the 2024 Upgrade Chatrier offer only lent seats until their holders arrived.
- Empty seats do not mean tickets on the day. Roland-Garros has sold no tickets at the gates since 2018.
- The rows nearest the court look emptiest. At the first night session of 2024, Media365 described the Chatrier boxes as about three-quarters empty while the upper tiers were full.
- Timing matters. Reports of empty stands cluster around 11:00 starts and lunch. The night session is a single match from 20:15 Paris time (2:15 p.m. Eastern).
People also ask
Why are there so many empty seats at the French Open in 2026?
There were fewer reports in 2026 than in earlier years. A Sports Illustrated column blamed the first-week heat for empty prime seats, while the FFT announced record attendance of more than 727,000. The often-shared Sabalenka empty-seats story dates from 2025.
Can you move into an empty seat at Roland-Garros?
Not as a rule: show-court seats belong to their ticket holders. Past schemes, Annexe Up and the 2024 Upgrade Chatrier offer, let some visitors use empty Chatrier seats until the holders arrived, but neither has been announced for 2027.