Just as Gabriel’s thunderous strike sent Paris Saint-Germain soaring to Champions League glory at 21:00, scattered roars erupted from the Roland-Garros walkways. Young supporters dashed about, fists clenched in triumph, while security personnel in navy uniforms embraced one another. Even the chair umpire overseeing Félix Auger-Aliassime’s match against Brandon Nakashima on Court Central called a brief timeout, allowing the crowd to momentarily shift focus to the football euphoria sweeping through the grounds.
The cheers and chants from Parc des Princes carried all the way to the Auteuil Gate pathways. First came the fireworks—distant but unmistakable—followed by the sounds of jubilation. No visuals, just audio. Much like last year when PSG dismantled Inter Milan 5-0 in the final, tournament officials had made no provisions for football fans at Roland-Garros to follow the match on big screens.
no giant screens, but plenty of passion
No massive screens were visible near the transat seating of Place des Mousquetaires, where spectators without tickets to the main courts watched Moïse Kouamé, Coco Gauff or Félix Auger-Aliassime battle on court. Not even on the walls of Suzanne-Lenglen Court, where the giant screen continued to broadcast tennis, tennis and nothing but tennis. Even during the deciding penalty shootout, the screens remained resolutely tuned to the baseline action. The reasoning was clear: Roland-Garros is a tennis sanctuary, and tournament officials were keen to prevent spectators from abandoning the courts mid-match to watch football highlights in the aisles.
quiet intensity in the press room
From 18:00 to 21:00 during the Champions League final, the Roland-Garros press room carried on as usual—hushed, focused on the tennis unfolding on court. The PSG-Arsenal showdown felt almost like a distant echo, overshadowed by the intensity of the clay-court action. There were a few exceptions: scattered supporters wearing PSG jerseys emblazoned with names like Kimpembe or Pauleta, and even two or three donning Arsenal attire, including one bearing Bergkamp’s iconic number.
On Court Lenglen, where Moïse Kouamé and Alejandro Tabilo were locked in combat, a handful of fans watched the Champions League final on their smartphones. When Ousmane Dembélé equalised for PSG (65th minute), the atmosphere remained subdued—almost too calm—but entirely predictable given the circumstances.
The only place inside Roland-Garros where the Champions League final was broadcast live was the press room beneath Court Philippe-Chatrier. It was there that the tension peaked, where supporters split into two camps during the penalty shootout: the English press on one side, the French contingent on the other, united in the end by PSG’s historic back-to-back triumph.
