psg’s Champions league victory electrifies Roland garros crowds without a single screen
At 21:01 sharp, the air above Roland-Garros trembled with shouts of triumph and the distant crackle of fireworks. While the French Open’s courts remained dedicated to tennis, the Parc des Princes’ victory over Arsenal in the Champions League final (1-1, 4-3 on penalties) echoed through the Parisian venue’s pathways.
When Gabriel’s strike sent Paris Saint-Germain to football heaven at 21:00, isolated cheers erupted in Roland-Garros’ walkways. Young fans sprinted between the courts, their faces alight with joy, while security personnel in navy uniforms embraced, fists clenched in triumph. Even the chair umpire overseeing Félix Auger-Aliassime’s match against Brandon Nakashima on Court Central paused proceedings, allowing the electrifying news to permeate the atmosphere.
The sounds of celebration traveled all the way to Porte d’Auteuil’s pathways, though the visual confirmation remained absent. Fireworks burst in the distance—audible but invisible—just as they had the previous year during PSG’s 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan. Once again, tournament organizers had made no provision for live coverage of the football final within the tennis grounds.
A tennis sanctuary untouched by football frenzy
No giant screens stood before the transats of Place des Mousquetaires, where spectators without tickets to the main courts watched Moïse Kouame, Coco Gauff and Félix Auger-Aliassime battle it out. Not even at Suzanne-Lenglen Court, where the giant screen dutifully broadcast tennis—only tennis. The penalty shootout that followed Dembélé’s equalizer passed without visual accompaniment, though one might imagine the excitement would have drawn crowds to the walkways.
The decision made sense: Roland-Garros is first and foremost a temple of tennis, and allowing spectators to abandon the courts mid-match for football celebrations would have been unthinkable.
The press center: where football and football took center stage
From 18:00 to 21:00 during the Champions League final, Roland-Garros maintained its usual hushed elegance. The football match between PSG and Arsenal felt like a distant dream, overshadowed by the intensity of the ongoing tennis showdown. Yet scattered among the tennis enthusiasts were a handful of football fans proudly sporting PSG jerseys—some emblazoned with Kimpembe or Pauleta’s names—and even a few Arsenal supporters, one notably wearing the legendary Bergkamp’s number.
On Lenglen Court, where Kouame and Alejandro Tabilo clashed in fierce competition, a few spectators glanced at their phones as Ousmane Dembélé restored parity (65th minute). The atmosphere remained subdued, almost too calm for the occasion—but then again, no one expected a football broadcast to interrupt the tennis.
Where to watch the final? Beneath Philippe-Chatrier Court
To catch the Champions League final at Roland-Garros, one had to venture into the press center beneath Philippe-Chatrier Court. This was the sole location within the grounds where half a dozen screens broadcast the football showdown. The tension and excitement peaked here, splitting the room into two camps during the penalty shootout: English press on one side, French supporters and PSG fans on the other, united in celebrating the club’s second consecutive European crown.
