This is the final post from my trip to the French Open which is a guide to visiting Roland Garros. I hope this post will be informative and the tips will be useful for anyone planning to visit in the future. This trip was three years in the making as the plan was to go in 2020 before the pandemic struck. I was really anxious about this trip as it was the first time i’ve been abroad since the pandemic and COVID. I was nervous about the travelling and being around humans again, but it all went pretty smoothly and I feel so much better for having done it and have more confidence in travelling again.
I like detail so this post is pretty comprehensive! I could never find much detail about the Slam fan experience when searching online so this is the passion for writing these pieces. I forgot so much from my last trip to Paris in 2015 so this will help me out for next time! This also completes the quartet of guide posts for the Slams on MTB which can all be found from HERE. This post covers everything from buying tickets, getting to the venue, what to take/not to take, the courts, the grounds, food, shopping and anything else I could squeeze in! Happy to answer any questions for anyone planning a trip to Roland Garros in the future 😊.
Buying tickets
The general sale of tickets for Roland Garros in 2022 was on the 8th of March. 10am CET so 9am UK time. Don’t get caught out by the time difference if you’re in the UK! Before the sale, i’d recommend having a Roland Garros ticketing account set up which you can do here. You can also sign up to the mailing list so that you receive e-mails about ticketing.
Main tip when queueing for tickets – be patient! You will have to wait in a queue for quite a while and that’s normal. My bro and I were logged on before 9am UK time. When it hit 9am, the bro was 25,000 in the queue and me, 36,000. I was a doof and refreshed the page manually having been on it for a while. Lesson learned – go to the loading page early and just stay there. It will click over automatically at 9am. DON’T click refresh!
The bro got through to the tickets page after 50 minutes. Me about 70 minutes. Once you get through to the ticketing page, it was clear and well laid out, and we had no issues with selecting tickets and making payments. We mostly got what we wanted although I couldn’t get lower bowl seats on Court Philippe-Chatrier which we wanted for one of the days.
The best advice I can give for buying tickets is go in with a clear plan of what you want for each day and have a back-up in mind if plan A doesn’t work out. You can find seating plans and prices for the courts on the ticketing section of the Roland Garros website. Tickets do sell out quickly for the main release and Philippe-Chatrier was sold out within a few hours. It’s not as bad as Wimbledon’s online releases but nowhere near as calm as buying tickets for the Australian Open and the US Open.
Getting to and from the venue
We stayed in central Paris on the western side, about a ten minute walk from the Eiffel Tower. We used the metro to get to and from the tennis each day. The tournament recommends using lines 9 or 10. We used line 10 and walked ten minutes from our hotel to Charles Michels station and then got off for Roland Garros at Porte d’Auteuil. This took about 15 minutes on the metro. When you come out of the metro at Porte d’Auteuil, it’s pretty obvious where you go and it’s then a five to ten minute walk along Avenue de la Porte d’Auteuil.
Coming back from the tennis, I have a tip courtesy of the bro. If you’re heading back to central Paris then exit the ground from the south side onto Boulevard d’Auteuil. There’s an exit right by Court Simonne-Mathieu and you then walk east about ten minutes to Michel Ange Molitor station. The end of the 10 line goes in a loop. On the first day we went to Porte d’Auteuil station and had to go back on ourself to Boulogne Jean Jaurès station before heading back in the right direction towards central Paris. By going to Michel Ange Molitor station saved us time on the second and third days.
Screenshot from Paris Metro Map (RATP website)
Buying metro tickets is pretty straightforward. There are ticket machines everywhere and they have various language options. They are in the process of discontinuing the paper tickets but they are still in operation as I write this in May 2022. You can purchase as many single tickets as you like, or a set of 10 from the ticket machines. I think next time we go we’d have to buy their smartcard, the Navigo Easy pass. When we tried to do this on our first day, none of the ticket offices were open. Details about the smartcard can be found here.
*Update – Thanks to friendly folk on Twitter who said that you can also buy metro tickets directly on the Eurostar from the cafe on board.
Entering the grounds
We entered the grounds each day through Gate 1, at the north east corner of Court Philippe-Chatrier. Each day we had a slightly different experience. Gates open at 10am. We arrived the earliest on Sunday (we were excited!) and got to the Porte d’Auteuil station at just after 09:30am. We arrived at the gate before 10am and had to queue for about 10 minutes. We could see the queue growing rapidly behind us. We got into the grounds by about 10:15.
On Monday, we arrived late at about 14:30pm due to the weather and strolled through security. That’s one advantage of going later! On Tuesday we arrived marginally later than Sunday and really felt the difference as we had to queue for about 20 minutes and didn’t get into the grounds until 10:30am. While we were a bit later, we generally felt Sunday was quieter than Monday and Tuesday.
There is a bag search while walking along Avenue de la Porte d’Auteuil and then another bag check and body search before heading into the grounds. This can be thorough. Once through security, you head to the turnstiles. You can either print off your paper ticket or download the Roland Garros app and add your ticket there. You scan the barcode and this then produces a small paper ticket that you use for getting into your seats. There’s an ID check after the turnstiles as each ticket is assigned to a person which is done on the website prior to attending. The ID check is strict. I tried one day to walk through and got stopped in my tracks 😂.
On exiting the grounds, on the first day some people asked for our tickets when we left Philippe-Chatrier. I’m always happy to help out other tennis fans. However, as we left through gate 1, where we had entered, I didn’t realise you needed your ticket to exit through the turnstiles! Cue an embarrassing moment where I was rummaging through my bag looking for my old paper ticket.
Restrictions on what to take into the grounds
You are allowed to take in a small rucksack to the tennis. We didn’t have any issues on the three days. We learned after the first day that taking food in is fine. I think the US Open (from 2016) is the only Slam that was a bit restricted in terms of bags and food. Drinks was fine too and we had no problem taking in a drinks bottle with water.
There are restrictions on the size of camera lenses so be careful! The website states that the limit is 20cm and on the final day, they did get my camera out and check the size.
The courts
A map of the grounds and location of all the courts can be found here on the RG website.
Court Philippe-Chatrier
This was my first ever experience on Court Philippe-Chatrier! I didn’t manage to get tickets for Chatrier when I went back in 2015. We would have liked to try both the lower and upper bowl but only managed to get seats for the upper bowl. We didn’t consider getting tickets for a night session. I think it’s ridiculously overpriced for just one match and the start time of 9pm local time is just stupid. I have no interest in staying around till midnight to watch a long men’s match 😂.
The stadium is more impressive than I was expecting. It’s gorgeous from the outside. I loved the Stade Roland Garros signage on the outside of the stadium.
From the upper bowl, the view is kind of what you would expect. Not as bad as Arthur Ashe at the US Open and very similar to the upper bowl of the Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open. On the first day, we had seats in section C8 and were in row 12. These seats were in the shade all day because of the roof. If you want shade, then go for seats in the northern stand and its corners.
The big gripe I had about these seats is that there were no row numbers painted anywhere which was ridiculous! I don’t know if they had repainted and forgot to add the numbers and I don’t know if it was just this isolated section. You had to count from row 9 upwards to find the right row. You could see the puzzled look whenever someone was looking for their seats for the first time. My bro began to help the community out by shouting “douze” at people 😂.
In terms of comfort, I think the seats on Court Philippe-Chatrier are the least comfortable of the top court at the four Slams. Leg room is not as spacious as at Wimbledon and the seats are hard unlike the cushioned seats at Wimbledon. We also felt more impeded with our view.
For our second experience on Philippe-Chatrier, our seats were closer in section C14 and row 4. To be honest, our view didn’t feel much better and we felt even more obstructed by people’s heads in front. It didn’t help that, unsurprisingly, for the Tsonga-Ruud match our section was full.
Ours seats in C14 were quite good for FPAs (famous person alert). Forgot to mention this in my reports! There’s a good view of the French TV studio and we saw both Alizé Cornet and Justine Henin. There’s also a decent view of the commentary boxes.
It’s a long walk up to the upper bowl seats of Philippe-Chatrier. From the top, you do get a great view over the grounds and also back towards Paris. There are mini food and boutique stores on the upper level which are handy so you don’t have to go back out of the stadium. There are obviously toilets although we didn’t think they were very well designed!
We had a brief experience of the roof when it came over for the Tsonga retirement ceremony, presumably because there was a threat of rain. We noticed there were gaps in the roof! I wonder if they ever have an issue with the sideways rain? I remember that was a problem for the Louis Armstrong Stadium at the US Open last year.
One final thing I will always remember from Chatrier is the Perrier noise that they also replicate on the TV coverage. It always seemed to get a chuckle! It’s annoying but I think it does its job in terms of advertising.
Court Suzanne-Lenglen
We didn’t see any tennis on Court Suzanne-Lenglen this time round and in the end favoured two days on Philippe-Chatrier with the assurance of the roof. An old picture below of Suzanne Lenglen from my trip in 2015 before the seats were upgraded! Aside from Anisimova-Osaka in the first three days, there was nothing on the schedule that I was upset at missing.
There are lots of food and boutique stands all around Suzanne-Lenglen. Note that on the northern side this area can get very congested.
Court Simonne-Mathieu
Stand by for a monologue. I adore Court Simonne-Mathieu. Watching a match at sunset on this court was on my bucket list. This was more important to me than being on Chatrier, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s made me think about my favourite courts in the world. The ones that stick out – No.1 and No.2 Court at Wimbledon, Grandstand and No.18 Court at the US Open, MCA at the Australian Open and No.1 court at Eastbourne. Even with recency bias, I can confidently say that Court Simonne-Mathieu is my favourite court in the world to watch tennis. And I achieved my bucket list of seeing a match with the sun setting 😍.
Court Simonne-Mathieu holds 5,000 people and was built for the 2019 edition of Roland Garros. It’s located along Allée des Serres in a new annex of the ground. I couldn’t believe I was at a tennis tournament. It’s so beautiful and tranquil. You’ve got the botanic garden with the plants, L’Orangerie where they held the draw ceremony and you can hear the birds singing. They’ve done a wonderful job.
Court Simonne-Mathieu has greenhouses on all four sides of the stadium. I wish you could see the plants a bit better through the glass! It’s just so different and unique. Love it! There are two levels to the court and it’s the same entrance for both levels. To my knowledge, both are ticketed and they were definitely checking everyone’s tickets. I think the upper tier may have been accessible on a ground pass when the court was introduced in 2019? We went for the lower tier as you get a proper seat, as opposed to the benches at the top. I don’t think there is a bad view in this court.
Our seats were in section M6 and row 8 although we weren’t actually eight rows from the back. We were even closer. The view was special! You feel so close to the action and it’s such a value add from watching on the TV. I enjoyed picking up the intricate changes in the pace and height of the ball.
The only negative for this court, and it applies to all courts really, is that there’s often a queue to get back into the court if you go out. The gates get busy. When I took a comfort break, I nearly didn’t get in on the first changeover back because there was such a long queue. It would be nice if there were toilets in Simonne-Mathieu but you have to walk out to L’Orangerie for the nearest ones.
The schedule for the first three days was always impressive for Simonne-Mathieu with a nice mix of French players and top players such as Muguruza, Halep and Raducanu. If you’re heading to Paris, then I couldn’t recommend highly enough having at least a day on Simonne-Mathieu. Trust me, you won’t regret it!
Court 14
Court 14 is the fourth biggest court at Roland Garros and it’s a sunken court, very similar to No.2 and No.3 courts at Wimbledon. It has the standard hard benches so it is not particularly kind on the bottom or the back! The back row all around the court has some metal gates up so these seats are a little kinder to the back.
I loved this court and again, not a bad seat in the house. The gradient of the benches is such that you’re not normally too obstructed by the person in front. This court can get busy. On the first day, the crowd was rocking for Barrere-Daniel and we couldn’t get close even for just a peek.
Access is a little odd. There are two entrances either side with stairs up to a raised platform that runs all around the back of the court. You can wander round here which must be distracting for the players. This is also how you access courts 15 and 16 which are practice courts at the back of court 14. To get out, we found we had to barge through one of the entrances which wasn’t easy! There must have been a designated exit which we missed 😂.
Court 7
We saw just the one match on Court 7. It was a great experience and again you can get so close to the action so it was definitely more enjoyable than watching matches on Chatrier. There’s a lovely view looking towards Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
My top tip, and this applies for all the outside courts, is to try to enter at the end of a set or end of a match when the courts tend to empty out. We stupidly tried to get on for Pegula-Wang on the Tuesday in the middle of the second set. We could see empty seats but the queue wasn’t moving at all and there is never enough time between the changeovers so we gave up. There are only two entrances in so it’s not the easiest court to get on. The benches, like all the outside courts, are pretty uncomfortable so we could only bear them for a set or two.
Court 6
We went on court 6 just the once for Collins and Korda on Tuesday, and had to queue to get on. It took us about three changeovers to get on. There’s a central concourse that runs between court 6 and 8 (7 and 9 are exactly the same on the opposite side). Once you gain entry to the central concourse, you can join either court.
We shouldn’t have been allowed in when we were. Play was going on so we just stood at the back. A steward then told us we weren’t allowed to stand there and watch, and had to find a seat immediately! Therefore, yes, I was that annoying person who had to find a seat whilst the match was ongoing. Generally, I wasn’t impressed with the stewarding and there were so many cases where spectators were let in while play was going on.
Otherwise, court 6 was a nice court and there was a gorgeous view behind of Philippe-Chatrier. There was also a view of the scoreboard which was helpful.
Courts 8 and 9
We didn’t go on either courts 8 and 9 which were next to 6 and 8 respectively. Both these courts had less stands than 7 and 6, and had long queues during the day. A tip in hindsight – there are separate queues for courts 6 and 8, and 7 and 9. Go for the shorter queue because they will both go up to the central concourse where you can then choose the court you desire.
Court 10
Court 10 is on a corner in the northern section of the grounds, in the shadow of Suzanne Lenglen. There were practices going on on Sunday and matches on the Tuesday. When there was a match going, the area tended to get busy as you could stand and watch from the corner. You can only get on to sit from one side of the court.
Court 11
We didn’t see anything on court 11. There didn’t seem to be much going on on Sunday. It was hard to get to on Tuesday where there were matches being played.
Court 12
We watched Botic Van de Zandschlup on this court on Sunday. You can stand at the back and watch over the court and see court 13 so it’s two for the price of one. Sunday was fine, but we couldn’t get close on Monday and Tuesday when it was much busier. Shapavalov-Ruud was scheduled first up on this court on Tuesday which was an appalling decision. There were literally people standing in bushes and security telling them off 😂.
Court 13
Court 13 is on the end of 11-12-13 so you can stand in the corner and watch points. The general area can get quite busy if court 14 is rocking. It’s a nice court and you have a decent view of court 12 too.
Courts 2 and 3
Court 2 was the first court we went on and we saw Garbiñe Muguruza practising here. There’s a lovely view towards Chatrier. We noticed these courts were empty on Tuesday with no play which seemed odd. They seemed under-utilised which was a shame as I liked them.
Courts 4 and 5
Like courts 2 and 3, we saw some practices on this court and there did seem to be some matches on Monday and Tuesday. There’s a running theme… nice courts! Fewer seats than courts 6 and 7.
Practice courts
Watching practices at Roland Garros has definitely improved since 2015. There are designated practice courts at the far western end of the grounds past court 14 with a viewing platform that overlooks court 15 and 16. We also watched practices on courts 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10, notably on the first day when there were fewer matches on the court. Keep an eye out for the practice schedule which is shared on the RG website (although not on the app?).
I’d say watching practices at Roland Garros is probably equivalent to Wimbledon. Wimbledon does have designated practice courts that you can queue up for but they hard to get to and have poor access. I still think a lot happens off site at RG, or at least not viewable to the public? US Open leads the way for watching practices, closely followed by the Australian Open.
Grounds and facilities
The grounds are vastly improved from 2015. I couldn’t even picture the old site in some places. The grounds are still small but I think they have used the space well. It does feels cramped at times, particularly around the northern side of Court Suzanne-Lenglen. There were a few unfortunate moments when matches finished at the same time on Philippe-Chatrier and Suzanne-Lenglen and it felt exceptionally busy around the grounds. We felt they let too many people in on Monday and Tuesday.
There were a decent number of toilets spread around the grounds. However, there clearly weren’t enough women’s toilets as every time we went there was a long queue. The best ones we found were underneath court 14. These were quiet if court 14 hadn’t just emptied out at the end of a match. There was a chance to fill up water bottles here too. We also found water fill-up stations on the southern side of Chatrier next to some toilets and another one by court 10.
There were a few neat touches around the grounds such as the line of deckchairs by court 10 and the square of deckchairs in Mosquetaires Garden. There wasn’t really any area comparable to say Henman Hill at Wimbledon. If you need a breather from the tennis then head over to the area around Court Simonne-Mathieur which was much quieter and tranquil.
I liked the Roland Garros wall on the southern side of Chatrier – a great place for taking photos!
Food and drink
We didn’t explore many of the food and drink options. We bought lunch in the grounds on day 1. This was in the row of outlets outside Philippe-Chatrier and behind Mousquetaires Garden. I bought the chicken meal with roasted potatoes. Pricey as expected at 15 Euros but I thought it was good quality. I was surprised that there were no queues whatsoever buying lunch when it was peak lunch time on Sunday. Perhaps we were lucky?!
After day 1 when we realised there were no restrictions on food we took in food. No brainer for me as it’s more convenient and much, much cheaper. I miss my daily stop at all the boulangeries and patisseries to buy sandwiches and an assortments of goodies!
Shopping
The main store at Roland Garros can be found under court 2 and 3 and I have to say I was taken aback – it’s the best shop at any of the slams by a country mile. It’s hugeee! There were still long queues to get in during the middle of the day and any rain delays. I’d advise going first thing after gates open. A nice touch is that the stringers are situated on the top level of the store.
There’s also a decent sized store as soon as you enter the grounds through gate 1. I forgot my cap on the first day so ended up buying my RG cap and a trilby hat (impulse purchase lol). There’s still a few things I want so will probably be using the RG shop soon. Word of warning – be careful buying the t-shirts. My bro and work pal both ended up buying women’s t-shirts 😂. They didn’t seem to be clearly marked, but it might have just been the language barrier too.
There are some smaller boutiques in the grounds, many dotted around Court Suzanne-Lenglen. They’re not fully stocked but if you find what you’re looking for then you’ll probably spend less time purchasing here than in the main store. There was also a dedicated Lacoste store near L’Orangerie.
Final thoughts
I love what they’ve done with Roland Garros and it feels really unique. Sorry, you’re bored of me going on, but the area around Court Simonne-Mathieu is just lovely. The grounds do get busy and it can get overwhelming and frustrating trying to get on the outside courts. We were mostly lucky with the weather but I guess it’s a pain if it’s raining if you’re not on Chatrier as there are not many covered areas. I think the first Sunday is a good option as it did feel quieter than the Monday and Tuesday.
I really feel like i’ve done the French Open now and had the Chatrier experience! I’d definitely go again and i’m very fortunate that it’s so close by and quite easy to travel to. Very thankful to have finally done this trip and had my RG fix after three years in the making!
If you have any questions about the French Open, i’d be more than happy to help. You can comment in this post or send me a message on Twitter, Facebook, or e-mail at MooTennisBlog@gmail.com
Moo's Tennis Blog 
Great guide, James! I’ve been there, too. Was my first time at a slam and I absolutely loved it.
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Thanks, Murphy! Was that this year or a previous year?
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This year 😉 2nd and 3rd round – Thursday to Sunday.
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oops – I meant Saturday.
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Ahh fantastic! 😊
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Thanks, Murph. Hey – does Roland Garros empty out the grounds after the day session or can you stay until the evening sessions end?
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Hi Lee, you can stay as long as you like around the grounds with your day session ticket although you would need a separate ticket for the night session on Philippe Chatrier.
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Thanks, I’ll James! – – ( sorry I entered Murph by mistake).. We’re planning on attending this June & will definitely take advantage of your tips!
Best!
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Enjoy! 🙂
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Very helpful- thank you. I’m going this year for the first time.
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Glad it was helpful, Rhonda. Hope you have a great time! 🙂
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if you want to get good seats, use a ticket broker like goaltickets.com, I bought some category OR, we seat 10 rows from the court, amazing experience.
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Thanks for your posting for the French Open. We are from Canada & going to be in Paris May 25-29. We can’t afford the big prices, but is there something we could see at a reasonable price any of those dates, incl the qualifying days. The only thing on sunday, May 28 was $475 US for a game & $175 US for walking the grounds. Am I missing something? Thanks Patti & Barry
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Hi Patti, that sounds very expensive! I think you should be able to get tickets cheaper than that. Here is the list of prices for 2023 on the website in Euros – https://prismic-io.s3.amazonaws.com/fft-billetterie/9aec494f-4f9a-4b52-b08b-5da813941043_Court+Philippe-Chatrier.pdf.
The cheapest tickets will be for qualifying week (10 Euros) which is between the 22nd and the 26th May. From what I can see it looks like the main release of tickets this year is on the 15th of March.
Hope this helps 🙂
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James, Thanks so much for your info. The prices on the site you recommended are much better that the site I was using – mine likely was a re-sale site. I registered so I can buy tickets asap. Is opening day (May 28) a good day to go? Or would you recommend one of the qualifying week days, which are cheaper but we want some good action too. Thanks, Patti
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I’d go for the opening day – you’ll get first round matches and there will likely be more going on around the grounds. Good luck with getting tickets! 🙂
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Hi James,
Thanks for all your help with getting tickets for the French Open! By a miracle, I ended up getting two tickets! Your blog suggestions really helped, altho I was not prepared for the misc steps to skip (ie ordering meal tickets & shopping stuff). I want to share my experience with you, as it was kind of crazy…
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div>I was up before 2
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Hi Patti, so pleased to hear that you managed to buy tickets! Ah yes that seems to be an increasing trend with offering the add-ons. Sometimes it’s not obvious where the skip button is! I hope you have a great time 😊
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Hi James, I am hoping to go to Roland Garros on the 1st or 2nd of June. Have not been before and would just like to soak up the atmosphere. Which tickets would you recommend?
Thanks
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Hi Beth, I would go for at least one day on Philippe Chatrier. If it rains then you have the guarantee of live tennis under the roof. For a more intimate experience, I would recommend the Simonne Mathieu court. I just read that the upper tier of Simonne Mathieu is now free for all spectators so you could get on with just a grounds pass. You’ll get closer to the action though with the reserved seating!
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Thanks so much- great guide👍
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Hi James,
Apologies if I missed the info in your blog, but is there a 2-3 set of days that you recommend to maximize your value, see great tennis, and have great seats? Thanks in advance!
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Hi Gene, we went for the first three days of the tournament which covered the entire first round. Personally, I always like to go at the start of a tournament because there’s more going on around the grounds and it’s normally cheaper too!
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Hi,
Thanks a lot for information
We are planning watch few matches on 5th &6th june2023
We are travelling all the way from India
Want to know best way of doing it
Many thanks
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Hi, thanks so much for the information. I am used to going to the US Open where if you have a ticket to the main stadiums, you can go to side matches. Is that the way it is at RG? Also, are there matches on the smaller courts on the following dates: June 5th-8th?
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Hi Shari, glad that it was helpful. That is one of the reasons I enjoyed the US Open so much! You need a separate ticket for the top three courts (Philippe Chatrier, Suzanne Lenglen and Simonne Mathieu) but you can get onto all other courts. I think Monday June 5th will be the last day with singles on Suzanne Lenglen. From then on all singles matches will be on Philippe Chatrier. As those dates are second week, it will be mostly doubles on the smaller courts.
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Hi there! I’m a travel planner and did not get session tickets for a client who’d like to attend a session on one of the main courts (on either May 29th or 30th, 2023). Is there a reputable ticket reseller (I know its frowned upon) that I could purchase tickets through? I have seen viagogo listed but there are no tickets currently listed on their site. Thank you in advance for suggestions. I want to ensure my clients are not scammed while trying to enjoy their anniversary.
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Queued up last night US time (7 hours before sale) and then went to site with another computer 10 minutes before sale. My 10 minute computer got 20,000 in que where the computer I was logged into for 7 hours was at 40,000. Anyhow, got row 5 for Round 3 on Saturday at Suzanne-Lenglin and got row 12 for men’s semi-final Friday at Phillip Chatrier both matches. I had to go through one of the premium packages for my semi final tickets which are about 2-3x the cost of a normal ticket, but do have suite access and a free cocktail! Lol. Well worth it as I doubt I will be back, and most likely get to see an epic duel of Rafa and Nole in the semis! At least that’s what I am hoping for.
Long story short, the year you want to go, do what they say and buy from their site on the day and moment they go on sale. All these other sites that offers tickets are not approved by the FFT and you run the chance of having bogus tickets. It truly was an easy experience and glad I gave my tickets in hand.
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Sounds amazing, enjoy!
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Hi Beth, I don’t have any experience with resells although I can see Roland Garros have a resale service. There are more details here – https://tickets.rolandgarros.com/en/general/informations#3. The website also mentions of a last minute sales opening starting on the 10th of May. Not sure if this is the same thing.
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hey Beth,
I used http://www.goaltickets.com, they are expensive but they are a US based company and delivered the tickets before we flew to Paris.
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So happy to find your guide – it’s super helpful! I’m going to Roland Garros this year and want to prepare as much as I can. I had some problems with the RG website while trying to buy tickets. My mobile got the best queue number but I had a lot of problems with the RG site slowing down and timing out. It ended up crashing just when I entered my CC info and and I lost the contents of my cart which had Cat 1 Day session tickets 😦 I eventually got back in but only could get Night session tickets. Sooo my question is, does a Night session ticket also give you access to the grounds/outside courts like Day session tickets do? I *really* want to see RG during the day!
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Hi Anne, glad that it was useful. Oh that’s so frustrating! From the RG website it looks like gates open at 6:30pm for the night session.
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6:30pm – okay. Thanks for letting me know! I plan to try to grab a Day session ticket when they begin to sell – and if not I’m hoping to at least get a grounds pass for the day. Do you happen to know if Outside Courts (grounds passes) are easy to come by as we get closer to the event starting?
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From the website it looks like there is a last minute sale starting on the 10th of May. I’ve not had any experience of buying tickets so close to the event. Good luck, hope you manage to get something! 🙂
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Thank you! I actually got on the RG site the other day and was able to buy a couple of Day Outside Courts Passes for two of the days. Better than nothing for now!
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Oh fantastic! A ground pass will you get onto any court except the top two courts 🙂
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Hello, I’m glad I found your guide. I also could only buy night session tickets, so my question is, can I get to the complex earlier and have access to the other courts? Thanks in advance
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Hi Andre, I was looking on the RG website and looks like gates open at 6:30pm with a night session ticket only.
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I also have 4th round night matches, but I wanted to be able to access the grounds earlier than 630pm. I kept an eye on the RG website and some Day Outside Courts tickets showed up, which for 10-20€ is a grounds pass – gives you access to outside courts. Right now I don’t see any but they can show up at any time and I’ve heard they can be easy to find as things open up unless it’s the final and Rafa is playing. =) With grounds passes, even though you’re not in one of the stadiums they have a big screen on the greens inside RG so people can watch the Chatrier match- I’ve heard it gets really rowdy, almost as good as being in the stadium.
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Hi James, my partner and I have got tickets for round 4 the night time session at the Philippe Chatrier court on the Sunday at 8:30pm. We want to make the most of the tickets as it was very expensive what time are you able to enter the french open with these tickets do you know?
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Hi Bella, not had experience of it but from the RG website looks like gates open at 6:30pm with a night session ticket only.
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Just thought I’d chime in, hope that’s okay! I also have 4th round night matches so in order to get more out of being there I kept an eye on the RG website and some Day Outside Courts tickets showed up, which for 10-20€ is a grounds pass – gives you access to outside courts. Right now I don’t see any but they can show up at any time. With grounds passes, even though you’re not in one of the stadiums they have a big screen on the greens inside RG so people can watch the Chatrier match- I’ve heard it gets really rowdy, almost as good as being in the stadium.
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Thanks so much Solete, this is a great idea! Enjoy your time at the French Open!
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I can’t find up to date info about the tennis Museum.Is it open every day of the tournament and free if you Annexe day tickets ? Web sites seem to be saying it’s only open Wednesdays and Fridays and you must book in advance ? Thanks
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I absolutely loved reading your comprehensive guide to visiting the French Open! It’s evident that you have put in a lot of effort to provide valuable insights and tips for anyone planning to attend this prestigious tennis tournament. Your post covers everything from ticketing and transportation to dining and sightseeing recommendations, making it a go-to resource for tennis enthusiasts and travelers alike.
When it comes to planning accommodations for such an exciting event, I highly recommend considering Rental Trader(https://rentaltrader.com/). They specialize in vacation rentals and offer a wide range of properties that can cater to different group sizes and preferences. From cozy apartments near Roland Garros to spacious houses with convenient access to public transportation, Rental Trader can help you find the perfect rental that complements your French Open experience.
Thank you for sharing your expert knowledge and providing a comprehensive guide to visiting the French Open. Your passion for the event shines through, and I’m sure it will inspire many to embark on their own unforgettable tennis adventure. Wishing you and all future attendees an amazing time at the tournament!
Game, set, match – and happy travels! 🎾🇫🇷✨
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We are heading to Paris next week and just by chance (bon chance!), my week coincides with the French Open. I got to cross this off my bucket list and will be there with my mom, husband and 11 year old daughter. This amount of detail is amazing and I will save this page to review before we go. Due to our schedule, we are going on the first Monday, so there will be a lot of tennis. My mother’s mobility may be limited. Thoughts on getting around in a wheelchair or scooter??
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Hi Michelle, so glad that the post was helpful. Hope you have a great time with your family! There’s a page on the Roland Garros website for people with reduced mobility – https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/page/access-for-people-with-reduced-mobility-roland-garros-stadium. There’s also an access map https://fft-rg-site.cdn.prismic.io/fft-rg-site/b6d0a3d2-4956-45e9-81d7-1bfc3b37336d_Plan+d%27acc%C3%A8s+PSH+RG22.pdf
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Hello, James! Thanks a lot for this article. Definitely best guide about French Open visiting. I have a question about ticket terms of use. We have tickets on Suzanne-Lenglen, does it give us un opportunity for multiple entry for this court on certain day? For example, can we watch one match at Suzanne-Lenglen, after that go to the outside courts and then go back to Suzanne-Lenglen for the next match?
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Hi Ana, yes if you have tickets for Suzanne Lenglen then you can go in and out as you please and opt to watch a match on the outside courts. Hope you have a great time!
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We have tickets Phillips Chatrier for the day session tomorrow. If we only wanted to see the two women’s matches, are we able to leave the grounds during the men’s match and return for the 2nd women’s match?
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Hi Jim, I don’t think they allow re-entry if you leave the grounds. Enjoy your day!
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Hi there,
Thank you so much for all of the information. I’ve been referencing these posts over the past couple of years preparing for a visit in 2024. We will be attending as a group of 4 and would like to try to get center court seats for 3 matches. I understand the ticket limit is 8 per person. Can I buy 8 on one account and 4 on another, then have these tickets assigned so there are 3 per person, without issue, or would this break any rules? Can those accounts have the same address, phone number and/or credit card (i.e. only the name would be different), or must they be completely independent? If I have multiple browser windows open when tickets go on sale, I’m not sure that I understand when I need to log in – is it after I’ve waited in the queue, selected my tickets and am checking out with them? (Trying to maximize my chances of being forward enough in the queue to purchase under 2 separate accounts, if needed.) Finally, should I expect night matches or the day sessions to sell out the fastest? Appreciate any insight you can provide as I’ve already made travel arrangements and am really hoping to secure tickets!
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Hi Charlotte, thanks for the comment. Yes, someone else in your party would need to buy tickets on their account because of the limit for 8 per person. Or you create another account although I don’t know how strictly they would check it for duplicated phone number/address etc so that might be more risky. 3 tickets per person would not break any rules. There don’t appear to be any rules on tickets per person. I had tickets assigned for 3 days back in 2022 and that was fine.
I think it asks you to log in to your account once you get to the front of the queue and start selecting tickets, or once you check out your basket of tickets. Make sure you have an account already set up and you remember your password! The ticketing website normally goes down the day before so I wonder if you are able to sign into your account before the site goes down and keep it open whether that would help.
Not sure about day/night matches. I would guess day sells out the fastest. I also think the final two weekends would sell it out quicker too.
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I am hoping to get a grounds pass for the 2024 open. I was wondering if you were allowed to leave the grounds and come back? I was hoping to meet a friend for lunch outside and then go back in. Do you know? I cannot find it on their website.
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Hi Jessica, unfortunately I don’t know for sure. I looked back at my tickets from 2022 and it says on them that re-entry is not permitted. Things might have changed since then. You have to scan your ticket when going into the grounds so i don’t know if it would let you scan your ticket twice.
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Best day and date to visit RG as it will be our first time. Greetings from South Africa
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Hi Belinda, personally I like the first three days of the French Open which would be the 26th to 28th May this year. The prices are cheaper, everyone is still in the tournament and there is a lot more going on around the grounds. The advantage of going later in the tournament is you will likely see more exciting match-ups. Happy planning 🙂
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Hi James, thanks a lot for your thorough guide, it helps a lot. When it comes to choosing tickets I am thinking of getting CAT.A tickets for the center court at the 2024 edition. Do you have any recommendation for which seats to choose? (long side, short side, corners, etc.).
Regards,
Sam
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Thanks for your comment. I think the position of seats is a personal preference. I find the sides are better for taking pictures but harder to follow the tennis. If you’re going for CAT A and close to the court then i’d go for seats on the opposite side of the umpire chair as your view would likely be more obstructed. I prefer watching from the ends or corners but that’s a personal preference!
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Hi James,
Fantastic blog! We are planning to attend the Qualifying matches on May 20th and 21st this year. A few questions:
– Any idea if tickets sell out quickly for the Qualifying matches? (We plan to be at the ready when sales open to the public, regardless.)
– It sounds like your favorite court will be used for the best Qualifying matches this year. (Per the website – The best matches of the Qualifying will take place for the first time on court Suzanne-Lenglen: with the appearance of a retractable roof for this new edition, the Qualifying promises to be magical!) Do you know if you need a separate ticket for court Suzanne-Lenglen during Qualifying or is it part of the Grounds Pass (open seating) and first come, first served?
Thank you in advance.
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Hi Karen, thanks for your comment. I can’t say for sure because I know ticketing was a bit wild last year compared to 2022 but I would expect that tickets would not sell out as quickly for the qualifying compared to the main draw. From the looks of it there is just the one ticket type available for qualifying so i think you’d be able to go on court Suzanne Lenglen and it would be first come, first served.
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Hi James,
Thanks very much for all the great information on this blog. We are hoping to get tickets for the finals weekend at this year’s French Open. Do you know how much the price of tickets differ for the different categories (cat 1 – lower bowl; cat 2 – lower section of the upper bowl; cat 3 – upper section of the upper bowl). And do the Men’s and Women’s finals cost the same? I could only find that tickets start at $200 for the finals.
Also, do you remember about how long one has to look for tickets before having to finalize?
Thanks so much,
Debbie
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Thanks for the comment, Debbie. The following link has the 2024 prices and the split by different categories. The men’s final seems to be much more expensive than the women’s final.
Click to access 31904bb6-1dcb-415e-bfb1-afd2cc111996_Philippe-Chatrier+court.pdf
I imagine that it would time out once you get to the tickets page – I can’t remember to be honest but we didn’t have an issue back in 2022. I think there’s a time limit once you have tickets in your basket. My advice would be to have a plan of what you want before tickets go on sale and have several back-ups too in case you cannot get plan A!
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hello! Does roland garros have ground tickets like us open? Or you can only buy tickets do the 3 main stadiums and then have acess to other courts? Thanks!
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Hi Martina, yes there ground tickets available for the French Open https://tickets.rolandgarros.com/en/decouvrir-nos-offres/a-la-journee/courts-annexes
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hey bro amazing post
i have a question ,can we book day and night session together in one go on a ticketing page when our turn comes up
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Thanks for the comment. They seem to sell them separately but I vaguely remember from 2022 that there was an offer of some kind to buy day and night in one go. I guess keep an eye on the ticket options prior to purchasing tickets https://tickets.rolandgarros.com/en/decouvrir-nos-offres.
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Really comprehensive report with loads of helpful tips. Very grateful as I plan RG24 for our first time. We’ve been to AusOpen ten times and US once. Thank you!
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Thanks, Justine. I’m glad it was helpful and hope you have a great time 🙂
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Great information here, thank you for sharing. I am planning my first trip to the French Open this year and am confused about tickets. If I purchase a day session ticket to court Phillipe Chatrier, will that ticket also grant me access to the rest of the courts, including all the stadiums? Kind of like buying a day session ticket to Ashe stadium.
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Thanks for the comment, Andres. A day session ticket for Chatrier will grant you access to all the other courts except Suzanne Lenglen which requires a separate ticket. Simonne Mathieu now has unreserved seating so you will be able to get on this court with a Chatrier ticket.
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James,
Great site. What is the big difference between Gold and the other categories for sitting at Chartier besides price? Are the seats more comfortable/spacious? I too like end or corner seats and wonder how far down one should go for good viewing. What is your recommendation? Any other insight on seating? Thanks.
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Thanks for the comment. I’m not sure to be honest as I have never been lucky enough to be in those seats! I would guess it would just be closer to the court, perhaps nicer seats?
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Hi James, thank you so much for this useful guide, I really appreciate it as I’m planning to go this year -missed out the chance last year when I decided to brush my teeth at 9am and came back to a 250K queue :’) For PC, SL and SM (lower stands) are the numbered tickets randomly allocated or we can choose the particular section & seats?
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Thanks for the comment. From memory, I think once you select your ticket type then you are allocated the “best available” seat. I don’t remember selecting a specific seat but this may have changed now. Good luck! 🙂
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Thank you, that makes sense, I guess we can confirm it when we enter the website on the 13th 🙂 I’ve got another question which I can’t seem to find an answer anywhere -would you know why the ticketed courts are more expensive on the first day? I’ve read that the first Sunday is quieter but doesn’t explain why the price on 26 May for SL cat 3 is €65 vs on 27-28 May €55 or SM €75 on 26 May vs €65 on 27-29 May? Cheers!
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That’s a good question! I guess it’s because Sunday is at the weekend but it doesn’t really make sense as i’ve always found Sunday is generally quieter than the Monday and Tuesday and they schedule less matches.
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Hi James, its me again! 😀 Was wondering how you got on with the online queue yesterday? My best spot was 62k, by the time I entered at 11am UK time, for the dates 26 & 27 May only the night session PC was left so I didn’t have much choice 😦 bit of a shame as SM lower stand was my plan A. Is there any chance ground court tickets will be available near May? Got a restricted view seat, I doubt the glass would block us too much, but would you know anything about that? Also fingers crossed the ‘great’ night match will have Nadal hehe!
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I wasn’t trying for tickets this year – oh dear, I heard it was difficult again :-(. I would keep checking the website regularly just in case tickets appear again. I’m sure they did a second release last year so I would just keep checking and hopefully you will get lucky. Fingers crossed for Nadal!
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Hi James, thank you so much for providing such useful and comprehensive advice. I know all readers (myself included!) are extremely grateful for all of your time and thoughtfulness. I do have a follow-up question that I was hoping you could clarify – if ticketing opens at 10 am CET, is there a benefit to being on the queue/status page significantly before then (i.e., would opening that page and sitting on it starting now, for instance, push you further toward the top of the queue)? Or is the benefit of getting to the page early just that you’re ready to go right when the clock hits 10 am CET? I’m in Texas where ticketing will go live at 4 am local time, so I’m trying to gauge how late I should stay up/early I should open the page. Also, if my laptop goes to sleep while I’m waiting on the page due to inactivity, do you know if that will cause me to lose my place in the queue, like refreshing would? I know these questions are a lot, so thank you again sincerely for your help. Hope to hear from you soon!
Best,
Madeline
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Hi Madeline, I think i’m too late in responding to this question as tickets are now on sale. To be honest i don’t know if being on the page beforehand would make a difference but i’m hoping you were successful in getting tickets 🙂
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Hi James, no worries at all. Yes, thanks to all of your help/advice, we were able to get tickets! Thanks again for everything.
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Yay! Well done 🙂
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Thank you so much for taking the time to write this, it’s all been super helpful information so far!
Just wondering if you’ve had any experience with purchasing tickets through the official resale once it opens?
I’ve got a trip from Australia all planned and book but unfortunately I was unable to get tickets through the main sale (224,000 in the queue!!). I’m hoping to get tickets to the women’s semis – do you think I stand a chance when resale opens (or do you have any tips/tricks?
Thanks 🙂
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Thanks for your message, Bethany. Oh gosh that’s crazy for the queue. I heard it was difficult again. Unfortunately I don’t have any experience with the resale. I would keep checking the tickets page regularly and hopefully you will get lucky. Good luck 🙂
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Hey Bethany,
sorry to intrude on the conversation and for the late reply but I do have experience with resale. I managed to get some tickets in resale last year by continously refreshing the resale page and being lucky and fast. Usually people will still put up tickets for sale, even one day before the scheduled event. I guess it also has to do with who’s playing on what court.
I’ll be heading to RG again this year for 3rd and 4th round matches, hope you managed to get some tickets or else next year.
best wishes, Manon
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Thanks for the advice, Manon. Hope you have a great time 🙂
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Can you recommend a good bistro or two in the area of the tourney.
Dave
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Hi Dave, I haven’t eaten near to the tournament but there seemed to be lots of places on our walk back to the metro station!
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Hi! Could I ask for some advice?
My parents are huge tennis fans but never been to any tournament before. I wanted to surprise them with getting us tickets for Roland Garros this year. I really wanted to get both day and night session for the day that would work for them but was only able to secure tickets for June 1st (Round 3) night session. Is it worth traveling just for one match? We’re in Europe so it’s not crazy expensive (I already reserved a hotel) but still not cheap. I know you can later get tickets in the resale and will keep an eye out but obviously that’s not a guarantee since June 1st would be the only day they could go.
I’m personally not a tennis fan so I’m not sure if this is something that would be worth doing and I really want to get a perspective of people who maybe been at Roland Garros before. I think it could still be exciting, but just not sure if it’s worth time/money spend just for one match, it’s not even finals.
What do you think? Thank you!
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Hi Emma, thanks for your message. If your parents love tennis I’m sure even a night session would be a great experience for them. I’m not sure what time you can get into the grounds with a night ticket but it should say on the ticket. I’d guess it’s around 5ish so you might have a chance to soak in the atmosphere on the outside courts before the night match on the Philippe Chatrier court. And as you said, keep checking the website and hopefully something for the day might appear.
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Hi James,
Thank you for your guide, it’s very helpful!
I have 2 tickets for night session on PC for first day of this year French Open. On the tickets it’s written that the stadium gates are opening at 6.30 pm but we’d like to watch matches on outside courts till our match begin. From what you experienced or heard from other people, the security personnel at entrance gates are very strict regarding entry hours? Worth trying to enter during the day with night tickets session? Do you know someone who tried?
Thanks!
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Thanks for your comment. That’s good to know! Unfortunately I don’t know anyone who has tried this or if they would be strict in allowing entry. You have to scan your ticket to go through the entrance gate so I wonder if it would let you through before 6:30pm. I guess it’s something you might just have to try.
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great info! thank you
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Thanks so much for the awesome tips and info regarding Roland Garros!! Very informative! I was wondering if you know if they have the ear sets to listen to the commentators? If yes, is there something we need to have to get them? At the US Open we needed an American Express card to get them. Thanking you in advance!
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Thanks for the comment, Marcy. Unfortunately I don’t know anything about the ear sets and not something that I’ve used before!
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Very good, but lacks a bird’s eye view!
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went to Alcaraz Sinner SF last week and this guide was super helpful – thank you so much for sharing!
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Thanks for the comment, John. Glad to hear that the guide was helpful and that you had a good time!
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Thanks for this great overview! I’m trying to get my 14 and 10 yo excited for our day 4 tickets for this year. We have grounds passes and this gave so much more perspective on what we might see than anything else I’ve found!
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Thanks for the comment. Glad to hear the post was useful 🙂
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