The Group Chat: Croissant, anyone?

With qualifying rounds done and (terra cotta) dusted, the French Open, aka Roland-Garros, hits the court in earnest today in Paris’ 16th arrondissement. While the on-court drama is just getting started, our group chats are already buzzing about the off-court energy — the good, the bad, and the chic. Let’s serve it up.

💬 Tradition is everything

Tennis is heavy on tradition, but even compared to other tourneys, this Grand Slam keeps it pretty old-school. Roland-Garros brands itself as a place where heritage and innovation meet — but it’s more like a meeting where tradition talks the whole time as innovation nods politely.

• Take its home stadium, Stade Roland-Garros, a monument to French identity in the heart of Paris. At just 15K seats, Center Court has a distinctly intimate feel (for reference, the US Open’s Arthur Ashe Stadium seats nearly 24K).

• What’s more, while the sport’s three other Grand Slams (the US Open, the Australian Open, and Wimbledon) have gone all-in on tech, the French Open refuses to adopt electronic line calling, continuing to rely on human line judges.

It’s also the only Grand Slam played on clay, drastically altering the style of play: The ball moves more slowly on this unpredictable surface, favoring athletes focused on finesse and strategy, as opposed to power and speed. That refinement is reflected in the tournament’s culture of elegance, creativity, and restraint.

💬 An unmatched art scene

As you might expect from a tourney hosted in the City of Light, art touches every aspect of the French Open. Stade Roland-Garros is situated in a literal botanical garden. People-watching is a crash course in Parisian style. The official French Open sponsor Lacoste, named for founder and three-time tourney champ René Lacoste, dominates fans’ ’fits.

• Particularly iconic is the annual Roland-Garros poster, usually created by a French artist and always stunning. This year, the tourney tapped world-famous French street artist and photographer JR, whose design honors the clay court and the staff that manage it.

💬 The potential athlete strike and PTPA snub

Underlying this celebration of art, culture, and heritage is another distinctly French tradition: a spicy labor dispute. This year, the French Open increased its total purse to $72.1M, but will share only about 15% of its overall revenue with the athletes — and they are not pleased.

• The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), a union-like advocacy org, has filed a lawsuit against the Grand Slams, pushing, in part, for 22% of rev share (for reference, the recent groundbreaking WNBA CBA reportedly offers players 20% over the course of the deal).

• In response, Roland-Garros officials denied PTPA execs’ credential requests, essentially saying that if they want to act as athlete advocates at Stade Roland-Garros, they’ll have to buy a ticket like everyone else. Sacre bleu.

Players including No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 2 Elena Rybakina, defending Roland-Garros women’s singles champ No. 4 Coco Gauff, and No. 19 Madison Keys have spoken in support of a Grand Slam boycott. Look out — the pay equity fight is coming for center court.