Is advertising on the tennis court becoming unsafe?

The French Open completed this past weekend with Coco Gauff of the United States (pictured above) and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain being victorious. However, there was one particular incident from watching the two-week grand slam tennis tournament that stands out the most. It is when Italy’s Matteo Gigante tripped over the Lacoste advertising located at the back of the tennis court behind the baseline (also pictured above).

Gigante was not injured on the play, and ended up losing his third round match to two-time grand slam semifinalist and 13th seed Ben Shelton of the United States, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Shelton, who reached the semifinals of the 2023 United States Open, and 2025 Australian Open, was without a doubt the better player. However, it is too bad the advertising on the court impacted the match.

I agree with the comments made by Jim Courier of TNT. Courier, who won the French Open in 1991 and 1992 (as well as the Australian Open in 1992 and 1993), was very critical of the French Open organizers of having Lacoste advertising on the court. Courier stated he was willing to “say Lacoste 10 times” if that was required to have the structures with their logo and name brand removed.

Not every comment Courier has said on television I agree with. However in this particular incident, he had the players’s health in mind. In the future, tennis organizers need to be aware of what is placed on the tennis court. The safety of the players need to be top priority. Let’s see what happens at next year’s French Open.

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