Sunshine And Smiles On Yannick Noah Day

They streamed through the gates at 10am, and made a beeline for wide open Court Phillipe-Chatrier, morning revellers baking in the sun in box seats, watching a spirited practice between junior champion Elsa Jaquemot and Belinda Bencic.

Meanwhile, crowds of late-arriving tennis enthusiasts came rambling through Porte 1 near the Nadal statue and lined up for photos with the image of the King of Clay, their chaperones counting down: 3, 2, 1! The kids didn’t need to be told to smile as they stood in the shadow of the gleaming statue.

As noon approached on a balmy Saturday, many headed for the air-conditioned confines of the Tenniseum, where 'Serving for equality: a history of women’s tennis' took centre stage. The artful exhibition shines a spotlight on pioneering women who paved the way and redefined the women’s game.

Seeing a bespectacled young girl marvelling at the clay-coated Adidas sneaker of Steffi Graf, signed in black Sharpie by the six-time champion, one can feel the impact of such a wonder in real time.

Our trip to the museum concluded, we followed the corridor to the entryway of a petite auditorium that housed Saturday’s Roland-Garros E series by Renault: A Tennis Clash competition co-captained by Gilles Simon and Benoit Paire. To kick off the games, Simon faced-off with his compatriot, and as Simon pulled away, clusters of kids chanted Benoit tu vas coucher! Paire, never one to disappoint the fans, pretended to smash a racquet in defeat.

The ninth edition of this good-natured – and highly professional – competition started several months ago with 5,600 qualifier entrants from 221 countries. It was whittled down to eight players as play began on Saturday.

Back over on Chatrier, Arthur Fils and Jannik Sinner would soon follow onto the iconic court, blazing through practice as the heat warmed the terre battue. The perfect appetizer before the big show, promoted simply as “The Battle,” a fun-filled team competition that pitted Team Yannick Noah against Team Amelie Mauresmo in a spirited competition.

Fans packed into the stands producing occasional Mexican waves as they cheered on Gael Monfils, Marion Bartoli, 17-year-old sensation Moises Kouame and others during the laugh-a-minute tilt.

Finally, a quick jaunt down the Allée Marcel-Bernard took us past the iconic statue of Suzanne Lenglen and into the fabled stadium, home to so many classic moments since it was constructed in 1994.

And there was 39-year-old Monfils, closing his practice session with a marathon rally with an awestruck nine-year-old girl. The crowd chanted her name and cheered for one of the longest rallies in Roland-Garros history (no joke, Monfils, ever gracious, made sure of it). In the end she took two of three from Lamonf, and hit ten balls into the crowd like a true champ.

A moment she’ll never forget. A day of unforgettable moments, with family, friends and fellow enthusiasts.

The best part? All profits from the day will be donated to fund social and environmental tennis-related initiatives.

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