Sawt Falasteen - Paris Masters prepares for bow on 'second biggest court in world'

Tournament director Cedric Pioline told AFP it showed the indoor event was "evolving" and the new venue in the western suburbs of the French capital would allow for innovations such as an improved walk-on for the players that will feature a laser show.

The new base will be familiar to TV viewers as the venue for the swimming events at the Olympics last year. It is also the home of French Top 14 rugby club Racing 92 and regularly hosts the world's best-known performing artists.

"The centre court will have a capacity of around 17,500 people, making it the second biggest court in the world for (tournaments held annually), behind the US Open centre court," Pioline, a former world number five-ranked player who was a beaten finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open, said.

"There will be just over 4,000 seats on Court No. 1 and 4,000 on Court No. 2. Court No. 3 has a capacity of a few hundred seats," the Frenchman added.

The ATP Masters 1000 event runs from October 27 to November 2.

In early 2024, organisers signed a 10-year contract to stage the event at La Defense Arena, a decision made in order to comply with ATP requirements for its biggest tournaments.

Rumours had long circulated that the event would lose its Masters status due to the size of the Bercy Arena -- its home since 1986.

"Without any changes on our part, over a medium-term cycle -– we are talking about four to five years –- there was a possibility of being downgraded (to a Masters 500 or 250 event)," Pioline said.

As well as enjoying a boost in seating capacity, the tournament's new venue will allow for more room on-court for players.

"We have also decided to increase the playing surface for the comfort of the players," Pioline said. "(At Bercy), the outside courts were a little small in relation to the physical commitment of the players and their coverage of the court.

"Overall, it felt a bit cramped," he added. "We simply needed to be able to evolve," he added of the decision to leave Bercy.

- 'Confident' for Alcaraz, Sinner -

Pioline emphasised one tradition would be carried on from Bercy to La Defense: the Paris Masters' glitzy player walk-ons. But it will be substantially updated.

"The tunnel that was created (at Bercy) in the 2010s was a great innovation," he said.

"We came to the conclusion that a new venue meant a new show. It will be much more vertical, even more based on laser-type lighting.

"It has to be a truly immersive experience."

Pioline shared he was "confident" the experience for fans would include seeing the top two players in the men's game, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

"The thousand ATP points awarded to the winner will carry weight" in the battle between the Spaniard and the Italian to finish the season at the top of the world rankings, he argued.

After injuring his ankle at the end of September during his victory at the Japan Open, world number one Alcaraz decided to skip the recent Shanghai Masters.

Sinner was forced to withdraw in the third round of the event in China.

With the ATP Finals scheduled in Turin from November 9-16, followed by the Davis Cup finals from November 18-23 in Bologna, the end-of-season schedule is "clearly busy, but we are confident", Pioline said.

V.Said--SF-PST