The most prestigious clay court tennis tournament in the world, Roland Garros also known as the French Open is looking to boost fan engagement in 2019.
The French Open confirmed that it has entered into a partnership with Infosys, an international technology firm in order to increase fan engagement.
The French Open will start in May and will see the top tennis players from around the world compete for the second Grand Slam of the year.
Roland Garros is looking to increase its digital capabilities as it looks to reach out to more viewers by adding technological innovations. This will eventually boost commercial revenue for television rights and sponsorships.
The purpose behind the Infosys partnership is to offer a richer experience to fans. Initially, Infosys will build a user-friendly tool for the official Roland Garros website which will provide access to live scores, insights and advanced data analytics. This will give the fans an in-depth perspective on the game. Fans will also be able to obtain info on different facets of each game such as the total aces sent down, unforced errors, and second serve percentages to name a few.
Another highlight is the creation of Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) apps that will offer the fans a first-person experience to play a game on court—specifically the Court Philippe-Chartrier or Center Court.
Roland Garros
The players and coaches can also benefit from the analytics data, as they will be presented in AI powered video analytics all throughout the staging of the tournament. This can help in their scouting and preparations.
Along with the boost in technology in 2019, the French Open will also raise the stakes with an increase in prize money. The total pot will increase by 8 percent to 42.661 million euros ($48.6 million).
At the center of this increase is the men’s and women’s championship prize, which will be pegged at 2.3 million euros ($2.62 million), an increase of 4.55 percent from the previous prize. The runners up will get 1.18 million euros ($1.34 million), up by 5.36 percent.
There is also a significant increase for advancing through the tournament. The highest increase is for those reaching the first round. They now get 46,000 euros (about $52,000), which is a 15 percent spike. Quarterfinalists get a 9 percent pay hike, which will now be 415,000 euros ($473,000).
The third round qualifiers, who fall short of reaching the main draw, will receive 24,000 euros ($27,000), which is a whopping increase of 14.29 percent. The men’s and women’s doubles champions receive a 3.5 percent increase at 580,000 euros ($660,000) and finalists 290,000 euros ($330,000).
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