News For the Upcoming French Open & Problems With Website

 

So a little bit of news from the tennis world, as the next big event, the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris - the second Grand Slam event of the calendar year - is almost here.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is out with a wrist injury. That means that he will not be defending his title.

You have to figure that this opens things up a bit for everyone else, at least the elite players who have a real shot at winning the Grand Slam event. 

Otherwise, on a personal note, I just wanted to express both frustration and disappointment with the official website that sells tickets. Last year, I tried - unsuccessfully - to obtain tickets for the French Open. Just one session, or the Yannick Noah Day, which is similar to the US Open Stars night, which is effectively a cheap way to see some of the stars of the tennis world at a major venue without paying top prices. For example, I paid all of $25 per ticket for my son and I to see players like Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Andre Agassi, and John McEnroe, as well as then world number one Iga Świątek and others on the woman's side.

Tickets were easy and cheap to access.

You might think that the French Open organizers could take a lesson.

Nope.

The ticket website is, frankly, obnoxious. It gives you options to put your email on some waiting list, which I did. It also gives you dates for when sales open up to the public, with the "first come, first served" option. I tried that, too.

Nothing.

There was one point, while I was actually in France, when it looked like I might actually be able to obtain tickets. Then the site froze up. The tickets were no longer available later on.

Yet, all of that felt like it was relatively easy and convenient compared to this year. The website just takes you around in circles. And when it does show something, it tells you that the tickets to your desired event were all sold out.

Now I know that the French are not known for being very well organized. With this ticketing system, it seems that they have outdone themselves. After another pointless visit and several attempts to try through outside sources, I once again am about to give it up. But before that, I wanted to see if my bad experiences were somehow unique, if maybe I was doing something wrong.

Apparently not. A lot of people have experienced frustration, to the point where apparently, fans began to petition the players themselves for help.

Ridiculous.

Anyway, just thought that I would post something about it, because it was very, very frustrating. I had specifically hoped to get to see a tennis event - any tennis event - at the French Open. But it seems like it is virtually impossible, because the ticketing system makes sure that this is the case. Tickets are sold before you ever get a chance to obtain any, and then they seem to be resold at jacked up prices on other sites. Something like five or so times the face value, literally.

Thank you, Roland-Garros, for such a memorable experience. 

Recent French Open decisions anger fans and appeal to players Wendi Oliveros Wed, April 22, 2026 at 7:10 AM EDT · 2 min read

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/recent-french-open-decisions-anger-111056645.html

Recent French Open decisions anger fans and appeal to players - Yahoo Sports

A Visit to the Holland Ridge Farms Tulip Festival in Cream Ridge, New Jersey

It was only recently that I heard about the tulip festival at the Holland Ridge Farms,. Apparently, it is right here in the Garden State, which is convenient.

How had I never heard about this before? 

Yet, I hadn't. But the pictures made it look similar to images and pictures of fields of tulips with windmills visible in the background somewhere in the Netherlands. I looked at the dates, knowing that tulips only really grow in spring. The festival had to end soon.

Sure enough, it would end soon. 

So I asked my girlfriend if she wanted to visit it during our mutual day off on Friday. That would make it April 24th. She was up for it. Then I bought the tickets. On a beautiful and sunny afternoon on Friday, we paid our visit.

Now, my girlfriend has been having some pains in her foot lately. So while we went, she had to stay at the periphery, near the picnic area by the main building. She got some distant views of the windmill, but the tulips were right there. So she got to enjoy the flowers and relaxed, stayed off her feet.

Meanwhile, I explored, visited the windmill and went around the fields of tulips. The farm does serve as a reminder that there were days, long ago, when New Jersey was a part of the Dutch colony New Netherland (Nieuw Nederland). The family is apparently Dutch, and I assume that it has been in the family for a long time. Whether or not it goes all the way back to the days when this was a Dutch colony, I cannot say. However, they do try and lend this place as much of an authentic Dutch feel as possible. Indeed, it does feel as close to a legitimate Dutch tulip festival as you are apt to find on this side of the Atlantic. 

Clearly, the most iconic site on the farm is the windmill. It is not as old as the ones in the Netherlands, which clearly served as the model for this one. Nevertheless, it is a fully functioning windmill. You can go inside and explore the machinery and learn a bit more about windmills. Quite interesting. 

Plus, it really is a beautiful place. Tulips really are a treasure of the springtime. And there were more tulips here, I believe, than anywhere else I personally have visited, with the possible exception of the tulip festival in Ottawa, which I had the pleasure of visiting once. Even then, I am not entirely certain that there were not more here in this place.

They had oversized wooden shoes everywhere, with some being decorative and large enough for people to sit in and get their picture taken. There were old looking bikes serving as decorations throughout the garden, serving both as a reminder of the prevalence of bicycles in the Netherlands, as well as adding something aesthetically. There are some Dutch flags and signs, as well as some other decorations to enhance the charming, fairy tale feel of the place. Plenty of activities for the kids, and some food vendors which offered some Dutch foods.

All in all, a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Below are some of the pictures from the visit.

Enjoy.

The flag of the Netherlands

Well, no. This is not really Holland. They play up the Dutch feel, but at some points, it felt almost overdone. Nevertheless, this was a charming way to pass a spring afternoon. It might not be the Netherlands, but if you are from New Jersey or somewhere in this region, this certainly feels like it is worth paying a visit.

The windmill is the biggest single landmark of this farm. And while from a distance, it does seem to look like an old windmill that you might find in the Netherlands, it becomes obvious that it is relatively modern once you get close. But I was surprised just how new it was, only built in 2024.