The ultimate experience for players in Paris

Chevalier is always organising, always building across her roles for Roland-Garros, the Padel Paris Major (October) and The Rolex Paris Masters (November), as well as leading the services at Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup ties.

“It’s about creating a solidarity between people, to make us all part of a family,” she said. “When you are in the tournament, it’s all about services. You have to be ready to answer all the players' needs, you try to react really quickly to anything."

Chevalier will start planning for RG 2026 the day after the men’s singles final on Sunday.

“What we’ve tried to achieve since I arrived, obviously working with our tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, is to make the players feel at home.

“They can travel 30 weeks or more, we want to bring all the services to them that they might miss from home, to make them feel good so that they can concentrate on competing at their best.”

Player requests can be anything from allowing pets on site (dogs have to stay in their carry bag), to something being added to or removed from a hotel room.

As well as requests there are reasons to celebrate too, such as birthdays.

“We gave both Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek electric bikes. Novak took it straight out for a ride and he went around the Arc de Triomphe,” Chevalier said. Footage of Djokovic's hair-raising excursion instantly went viral on social media.

“Novak didn’t get a cake as he was in Geneva. Instead, we’ve made him a wooden bench, like the ones you see around the site here, with his [Roland-Garros] titles inscribed, because he wanted one to go on the side of his tennis court at his house in Marbella.

“When we showed him the bench, I saw his face, he was wondering about this year. I said to him that if he wins, we will add the ‘2025’ to it and then send it to him.

“Also for Novak, after his 100th title win in Geneva, we made a special ‘congratulations’ silver plate for him," Chevalier continued. "Normally a champion takes home a mini version of the trophy and he asked us to put all his Grand Slams listed around the base of his 2023 trophy. We got all 24 engraved!

“We sort the goodbye gifts if players are retiring; we had a few ceremonies and trophies to help with this year. It’s all about co-ordinating with the different teams.”

Whoever is the champion this year will be part of a new initiative. The ‘Tribune Concorde’ has opened for fans to experience the thrill of Roland-Garros on giant TV screens at Paris' famous Place de la Concorde.

“Normally we organise a drink for the champion and their team, friends, family. Now we will take all the winners, on the day or the day after their final, down to this iconic location to make the champion photoshoot there.”

Chevalier is a former professional player herself and as such understands the needs and concerns of the current crop.

Since starting her role in October 2021, the facilities and services for players have developed and expanded and are now world class.

On arrival at the grounds, players receive a generous welcome gift. A gold-plated plaque of Paris’ iconic buildings is the pièce de résistance (check out Daria Saville’s social media post below).

A slick Roland-Garros player app gives athletes control over their whole journey with a few clicks. They can arrange accommodation, book transport, see the practice schedule... it's all there.

A new feature is an Instagram-style ‘stories’ area where engaging content promotes places and attractions for players to enjoy or visit. Restaurant recommendations are a big hit and the offer of Disneyland tickets has been the most popular this year.

Walking around behind the scenes, you notice all the small touches and decorations that show the effort made by Chevalier and her team.

The self-care centre covers recovery, quiet rooms and areas to discuss mental health with ATP and WTA experts, while a yoga teacher has been a popular addition for 2025.

Just around the corner from the lockerooms and state-of-the-art gym, the quiet rooms have been a hit since 2022, where stars can recharge in a space away from the stress of a Grand Slam. Beds in soundproof tranquility are surrounded by dimmed lights, pillows and dried flowers. Noise-cancelling headphones are available to tune into an app with all manner of relaxing playlists.

There is no surprise that food is a key ingredient for a player’s time in Paris.

On the app, they can order meals for times that suit their match schedule, for instance at 8am if they’re first on court.

Pasta is the leader of the pack, with a collection of other stations including sushi, pizza, pastries, a grill and salad bar. Protein shakes and tailored snacks to enhance instant re-fuelling occupy a busy area too.

Players or their teams who fancy taking their time over dining can head up to the sunset balcony in Court Philippe-Chatrier called the ‘Club House.’ Overlooking the outside courts, players and teams can savour gourmet food and perhaps enjoy something from the cocktail bar.

Adding to the options for relaxation, there are several locations for massages, facials, hairdressing and all sorts of feelgood extras.

Since 2023, players can truly commemorate their trip to the French capital in the tattoo parlour. It was an idea proposed by president of the French Tennis Federation, Gilles Moretton, who has several tattoos, and the parlour is the most popular service aside from the hair salons. One player had the famous Roland-Garros quote ‘Victory belongs to the most tenacious’ inked onto their skin as a reminder of the Court Philippe-Chatrier setting.

It’s all covered - laundry, a candy room, there is even an on-site seamstress to stitch any sponsor logos on to match outifts. Players are well and truly looked after to the very last stitch.

“It’s been four years of constantly developing, updating what we have built,” said Chevalier, a former world No.218 who competed at Roland-Garros in both singles and doubles.

“I think we have reached a higher level of quality. It helps that a lot of my team has been here for my whole time. They are so focused on what they do, it makes my job so much easier. It’s smooth.

“I go to all the Grand Slams and their teams are coming here too. It’s interesting to see what they do.  

“We try to work together, to align on some principles but also its competitive, like the players, because you want to deliver the best Grand Slam experience.”