Roland-Garros stadium, an iconic French sporting venue, is set to embark upon an exciting new chapter in its history at the end of July. As part of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the complex at Porte d’Auteuil will be hosting the tennis and wheelchair tennis events, along with the boxing finals

A natural choice

This hallowed sporting ground is renowned worldwide for its beauty, as well as its seating capacity and high quality infrastructure – so it is unsurprising, then, that Roland-Garros stadium has become a flagship venue for sporting events in France. Its glowing reputation made it a clear candidate as a future Olympic site when Paris was nominated as the host city for the 2024 Games.

“Roland-Garros stadium was chosen early on, as soon as we sent our letter of engagement in August 2016,” says Christophe Fagniez, deputy director of the French Tennis Federation (FFT). “The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has introduced a new standard for using existing infrastructure and expertise. It made sense to entrust the FFT with the task of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic tennis events, and Paris 2024 quickly contacted us to get this collaborative project off the ground.”

Temporarily breaking away from the tournament for which it is so famous, the Federation is now putting its experience and expertise to work for an event it does not own.

“The FFT is providing its stadium complex, and must also oversee the smooth running of the various events in its role as an Event Delivery Entity (EDE),” continues Christophe Fagniez, who is also the event general manager for the Olympic Games at Roland-Garros. “This is the first time that we have used this model and we want to prove the benefits. Despite our extensive knowledge, we are still starting from scratch. We are building from the ground up.”

To ensure that the 41 Olympic venues are able to provide the same level of service, the teams working on this extraordinary project must ensure that they comply with the meticulous IOC and Paris 2024 specifications in record time.

An immense transformative challenge

Roland-Garros stadium is constantly developing – look no further than the new Place des Mousquetaires, the construction of Simonne-Mathieu Court, and the installation of retractable roofs on the Philippe-Chatrier and Suzanne-Lenglen courts.

What’s more, the complex now hosts numerous other cultural and sporting events throughout the year. However, for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the site will be undergoing an unprecedented visual and technological transformation, and all within a very short period of time.

“The stadium complex will be decked out in the colours of the Olympics while respecting a very strict aesthetic definition that we are working very hard on,” says Fagniez. “The site spans 12 hectares and is very recognisable as ‘Roland-Garros’, so there is a huge amount of camouflage and redecoration to be done. Everything needs to change, from the design to sports facilities and even the welcome desks! But of course, these modifications can only be carried out after the Grand Slam, which leaves us with very little time to get everything done.”

The teams will have just six weeks to transform the site between the end of the major (9 June) and the start of the Olympic tennis event (27 July‑4 August), with star athletes setting up shop even earlier for practice. And that’s not the only logistical feat in store – Philippe‑Chatrier Court will also undergo another transformation after this stage in order to host the boxing finals over five evenings, from 6-10 August.

“In theory, we’ll have 36 hours to do it – but in reality, the Olympic model requires a run‑through of various ceremonies before each competition, reducing the time available for this transition even further,” explains Elodie Sauvaigo, deputy event general manager for the Olympic Games at Roland-Garros.

“From the evening of 4 August until 12 p.m. on 6 August, we will have to protect the playing surface, adjust the tech equipment for the boxers’ theatrical entrances as well as for TV broadcast, not to mention setting up the ring itself, the judges’ table, a stand with around 100 seats – plus freestanding screens, because we can’t hang a central screen from the roof. Lighting was already approved in operational tests carried out last summer.”

The boxing events hark back to the history of the stadium, which hosted Marcel Cerdan’s combat against the American Holmann Williams on 7 July 1946. They will be followed by the Paralympic wheelchair tennis events from 30 August to 7 September, which also present various challenges.

“We will of course make use of the infrastructure introduced for the Games,” says Elodie Sauvaigo. “But we will have to focus on the upkeep of the courts (with 10 competition courts) as well as facilities for the athletes – such as the locker rooms at Philippe-Chatrier Court. They aren’t as practical or accessible as those of Suzanne-Lenglen, which are like a home base for players during the Roland-Garros tournament.”

Volunteers and employees working hand in hand

Setting up the stadium in three different configurations in just a few weeks represents an immense challenge, both from a technical point of view and for teams. This adventure will inevitably require mobilising significant numbers of people. The FFT has therefore modified its internal structure to create a specific division focusing on the Games.

“To our minds, the experts at Roland-Garros had to be involved in the Games,” says Fagniez. “But as these employees already work full-time on our other events, we appointed Paris 2024 representatives to combine our expertise at the stadium with the culture of the Games. The team will be made up of over 200 people in May.”

Looking beyond logistics and technological considerations, the staff in this division will be in constant contact with the many volunteers on hand at the complex, who will be a major and visible new addition both behind the scenes and throughout the grounds.

“The big change will be the presence of so many volunteers, which is not usually the case at a Grand Slam tournament. Looking at sport and athlete support alone, there will be 490 people officiating all over the complex for the Olympic events, and 375 during the Paralympics,” concludes Elodie Sauvaigo.

With new decor, infrastructure and people, Roland Garros stadium will be kitted out in one of its finest tailor-made outfits for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.