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 ΕwiΔ tek 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
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