Playing in front of empty stands at the French Open is no fun for tennis stars as the city of lights suffers from silent nights

Whether it’s defending champion Rafael Nadal or top-seeded Novak Djokovic, they agreed that playing in front of empty stands isn’t fun and isn’t fun at all.

The matches in the night sessions at the French Open are played in front of an empty stadium because of the local 9 pm curfew amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The official night program includes just one match in the main stadium each day— and if the action stretches beyond 9 pm, play is halted briefly, while fans leave.

“It’s better playing with a crowd,” said Nadal, who turned 35 last week and so might have been serenaded with a verse of “Happy Birthday” had enough people been there to sing.

Playing in the twilight also affecting players. During his pre-quarterfinal match against Jannik Sinner, Nadal has complained to the chair umpire that the stadium’s artificial lights shouldn’t have been switched on while there was still sunlight.

“They say it is because of the TV,” Nadal said. “But my answer is: We used to have TV before we had the lights on here in Roland Garros. I saw plenty of matches here — and from the TV, the quality of the image was great without the lights.”

Top seed Novak Djokovic has admitted that it is sad and no fun playing without the fans.

“Playing in front of empty stadiums is not fun. But I actually have a really good record playing in the night sessions, but the only thing is that I am a little sad that there’s not going to be a crowd,” said top-seed men’s singles player Novak Djokovic.

Like athletes in other sports, tennis players grew accustomed to competing in front of emptier — or entirely empty — stands during the pandemic.

Last year, only 1,000 spectators were allowed in each day at the French Open. This year, it’s been a little more than 5,000, which is supposed to rise above 10,000 in the semifinals.