The Court Philippe-Chatrier is reborn

Five large cranes have been busy at the Court Philippe-Chatrier since the end of the French Open earlier this year, operating above the stadium and in its four corners.

Here, at the heart of what will be the new Roland-Garros, a ballet is being played out day and night and which will lead, in a few months’ time, to the birth of a gleaming new stadium.

The metal structures are taking shape and the future radio and TV booths can now be seen. Slowly but surely, the new Chatrier is coming to life.

“A number of tasks are being carried out at the same time,” explains Gilles Jourdan, head of the Roland-Garros Stadium modernisation project. “We’re fixing raker beams and metal posts into position, while also installing struts to keep the foundations in place, before laying the slabs that will cover the ground.”

The Court Simonne-Mathieu lights up the Jardin des Serres

Rising 31 metres high and plunging eight metres deep, the site certainly catches the eye and reflects the scale and importance of this key phase in Roland-Garros’ redevelopment.

Situated at the other end of the complex, the Fonds des Princes is also undergoing a transformation, with foundation and earth moving work well under way in preparation for the six new courts that will be built here.

Meanwhile, the new Court Simonne-Mathieu in the Jardin des Serres has reached completion. The first plants have been planted in its four glasshouses and all that remains to be done is to install the new playing surface, which will be used for the first time at the 2019 French Open.