No Outside Courts, Only Philippe Chatrier For Me Please, Says Aryna Sabalenka

News18

2 days ago

World number one Aryna Sabalenka has decided she no longer wants to play on the outside courts in Paris and is now aiming solely for the centre court as she pursues her first French Open title.
The top seed has played two of her four matches so far on the Suzanne Lenglen court, which has a capacity of 10,000 spectators, including Sunday's straight-sets win over American Amanda Anisimova.
The Belarusian, a three-time Grand Slam champion, now hopes her quarter-final against China's seventh-seed and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen will take place on the Philippe Chatrier court, which accommodates 5,000 more fans than Lenglen.
'If you ask me what I prefer, I prefer to play on Philippe Chatrier," Sabalenka said in a press conference.
'Why the decision was to put me on that court for the second time, I don't know. Hopefully, from now on, I'll be playing only on Philippe Chatrier. I think I should be, right?" she said.
Sabalenka acknowledged that playing on the smaller court allowed fans without showcase court tickets to watch her, but emphasized that the Philippe Chatrier court had a different atmosphere and a larger audience.
'When you play on the biggest courts, they show those matches on TV, so more people are watching, and you can showcase yourself to a larger audience," Sabalenka explained.
'Also, the court is so beautiful, and it's much bigger. The moment you step on the Chatrier, you feel like, okay, this is a big stage, and this is where I'm meant to be."
'This is where I want to compete, and I want to fight, and I want to bring my best tennis. So I think it's all about the energy of the stadium."