Katie Boulter has implored French Open organisers to remove advertising hoardings at the back of the court after a lucky escape on Thursday.
A row at Roland Garros has broken out after several players have tripped over the concrete blocks – adorned with ‘Lacoste’ branding – beyond the baseline at the clay court Grand Slam.
Turkish doubles player Zeynep Sonmez had to retire from her match in the second round after she tripped over the hoarding and fell into the back wall. The 24-year-old was attended to by medics for 10 minutes, required stitches and eventually was forced to retire.
Zeynep Sonmez just had to retire from her doubles match at #RolandGarros because of this…
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 29, 2026
Unbelievable that tennis can’t learn from previous incidents. pic.twitter.com/fbpnP4bqMY
During her loss to Anastasia Potapova in round two, Boulter also tripped over a similar block on Court 13 and afterwards posted on X: “THESE THINGS HAVE TO GO. Got lucky last night but next time I might not be…”
Sonmez concurred: “I stand with Katie. Five incidents in five days. I left the court with two 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.”
Belgian player Alexander Blockx has also threatened legal action against the tournament after he injured his ankle, sarcastically posting on Instagram that he had tripped over the “really necessary” blocks before editing the post. He had to withdraw from the tournament.
Former Grand Slam doubles champion Pat Shriver was particularly critical, detailing that the concrete signs add to the growing list of concerns pros have at the moment.
She posted: “Tarps in play, Lacoste signs in play, large white sponsor signage on back wall hurting vision, sub par umbrellas for shade, suboptimal % of prize money, no heat rule…
“How else are players well fair [sic] not being looked after?”
Tournament organisers will make changes as a result of the complaints, saying in a statement: “We have taken this feedback into account and are maintaining ongoing communication with the players and their teams.
“All Roland Garros courts currently exceed the international circuit minimum requirements regarding the distance between the baseline and the back of the court.
“However, the tournament’s priority remains the well-being of the players taking part. With this in mind, and based on our own observations, adjustments are currently being made to the area around the playing surface.”
