Casper Ruud vs Joao Fonseca was one of the most highly anticipated fourth round matches of Roland Garros, but the Norwegian star was far from happy during the first set.
The pair battled out a very narrow first set and Ruud shared a complaint with the umpire during the changeover when the score was 6-5 in Fonseca’s favour.
Ruud was not happy with the advertising hoardings at the back of the court, which he felt were getting in his way during the pair’s extended rallies on Philippe-Chatrier.
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On TNT Sports’ coverage of Roland Garros, Ruud could be heard saying: “I think it’s more important player health than the frigging sponsors!” to the umpire.
While the umpire’s response could not be heard, TNT Sports commentator Robbie Koenig shared more information about the World No. 14’s complaint.
“Casper’s a little worried about those Lacoste sponsor, I guess you’d call them umpire boards. He’s ran into a couple of them now,” said the broadcaster.
“He’s come awfully close. They’ve just moved them back another foot or so. I do think they are made of foam. Players can’t really hurt themselves, but you can trip over it.”
The advertisings, or the complaint in general, clearly stuck with Ruud as he would go on to lose the first set by a scoreline of 7-5, with a late break in the next match.
This is not the first time players have complained about the advertsing hoardings at Roland Garros, as it has been quite the hot topic in Paris.
After suffering a scare herself in her match with Anastasia Potapova, Katie Boulter took to social media to share: “THESE THINGS HAVE TO GO. Got lucky last night but next time I might not be…”
Zeynep Sonmez, who was forced to withdraw from her doubles match after colliding with a hoarding, backed up Boulter’s complaints on social media.
I stand with Katie,” the Turkish star wrote on X. “5 incidents in 5 days. I left the court with 2 stitches and a bruised knee. Thankfully, it wasn’t worse.
“Do we really have to wait until a player is seriously injured before these courtside boards are removed? Player safety must come first.”
The tournament responded by saying they were making “adjustments to the area around the playing surface,” but it appears players are still unhappy and the debate will rumble on.