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Roland Garros reveals new look of Court Philippe Chatrier after roof installation prompts makeover


The full new look of Philippe Chatrier court at Roland Garros has been revealed after work to install the brand new roof was completed ahead of schedule.

Retractable roofs have been a feature on the showcourts at Grand Slam for some time, with organisers under increasing pressure to protect their schedules from the elements.

The French Open was the last of the four Slams to address the issue, and was hit particularly hard by torrential rain in Paris last year.

However, Roland Garros wash-outs will now be a thing of the past, and Philippe Chatrier has a brand new look to go with the fresh innovation.

Testing will now take place on the roof to make sure it is fully operational for the 2020 French Open, which starts in May.

It is made up of 11 trusses, each weighing in a 330 metric tonnes, with each truss split into seven sections measuring 15m long and 3m high.

The trusses were manufactured close to Venice, and took teo years to construct, followed by eight months to install.

It will take around 15 minutes to close the roof, which covers total surface area of one hectare.


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Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.