Le pickleball! Roland-Garros embraces the fast growing racket sport

Is the battle between tennis and pickleball gradually softening? French tennis takes a small but significant step towards embracing the fast growing racket sport from the USA

The French Tennis Federation (FFT) have taken the bold step to introduce pickleball into this year’s French Open with a court being made available for spectators on site at the Paris tournament during the first week of the clay court major.

According to their press release, “Spectators at Roland-Garros will be able to discover and get a taste of Pickleball, a racquet sport from the United States that is becoming increasingly popular in France and Europe. This discipline, which has recently been incorporated into the FFT's regulations, is not just fun to play but very accessible. From Sunday 26 May to Saturday 1 June, a court will be set up on the north forecourt of Philippe-Chatrier court, while on the last four days of the tournament, from Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 June, three Pickleball courts will be set up on Court 5.”

Perhaps more interestingly for Racket Business readers is a small note at the ends of their press release that the FFT will also be launching a ‘pickleball license’ for the 2024/25 season.

At the time of going to press we have no further information on exactly what a license would enable but it sounds like the powers that be are looking to embrace the sport of pickelball rather than fight it.

This follows similar steps by tennis governing bodies to embrace new sports most evident in the UK where the Lawn Tennis Association has assumed control of the administration of padel by acquiring a UK’s fledgling padel association