Seats at the French Open Often Sit Empty for Hours, Especially for Morning Matches

If you happened to watch Aryna Sabalenka, the no.1 ranked female tennis player in the world, during her quarterfinal match at the French Open, you might have noticed that she was playing in front of a lot of empty seats. The match was scheduled for 11 a.m. local time, which is pretty early in the day.

If you found yourself wondering why one of the world heavyweights in tennis was playing in front of so many empty seats, there's actually a relatively simple explanation. Here's why there seem to be so many empty seats at the French Open.

According to reporting from NBC Sports, empty seats are actually a relatively common sight during the early hours of the French Open. The main reason for that is that many ticket holders, who hold their seat for the entire day, decide to leave for lunch or show up sometime later in the day. Ticket holders are usually there for hours at a time, so the fact that they aren't there first thing in the morning is really more about their own endurance than anything else.

The reason that Aryna's marquee match against Zheng Qinwen was viewed by relatively few people in person is down to scheduling more than anything else. The men's matches tend to be held in the evening, in part because of a long-held belief that they are the ones more people are interested in. Tournament director Amélie Mauresmo said that the total lack of night matches for female athletes was a problem that should change in future years.

For now, though, it's the women who are forced to play in front of emptier arenas, and the men who get their matches seen by a wider audience. Crucially, that's not necessarily because the men's matches are always better or even more intense. Men are simply favored in this sport, and the scheduling reflects a belief that more people are interested in watching those matches than the women's competition.

As you might expect, the female tennis greats of this generation are not necessarily happy that they don't ever get to play in front of a huge crowd.

“There was a lot of ... great battles, a lot of great matches which would be cool to see as night sessions,” a Belarusian player said. “Just more people in the stands watching these incredible battles. And just to show ourselves to more people."

"I definitely agree that we deserve to be put on a bigger stage. Like better timing, more people watching," she continued.

While that will hopefully change moving forward, the French Open stadium is likely always going to be empty for at least part of the day. When you're holding tennis matches all day, it's difficult for people to stay glued to their seats so that they can watch each and every one unfold.