New Roland Garros poster uses AI to turn the Seine into clay-colored river of dreams

Oh la la! Roland Garros has just unveiled its 2024 official tournament poster, and it depicts the River Seine as a terre battue-hued river of dreams.

Since 1980, the clay-court Grand Slam has featured one of the most unique traditions in tennis by inviting contemporary artists from around the world to create its annual poster.

This year, it was French photographer Paul Rousteau’s turn. His 2024 poster depicts a city landscape overlooking the iconic River Seine, which is colored in an impressionist style featuring the signature red-orange tones that are synonymous with Roland Garros clay.

There are a few more nods to the tournament throughout the scene, like a watery distorted tennis court and a setting sun that takes the shape of a glowing yellow tennis ball.

“I wanted to represent Paris, but also the characteristic color of a clay court,” Rousteau explained. “For example, I thought about putting the court on a wall, on a street, on a building covered with red clay, with lines, or even a bird’s eye view…

“A city, seen from above, is usually gray, but here I imagined it to be the ochre color of Roland-Garros. Then, I fell upon the idea of depicting the River Seine.”

The poster’s spotlight on the Seine is also a reference to the massive role the river will play in next year’s Olympic Games, which will be hosted in Paris for the first time in 100 years. The Opening Ceremony will not be held inside a stadium but on the Seine itself, with national delegations sailing through the heart of the city in a spectacular boat parade.

And, fittingly, the Olympic Tennis Event will also take place at Roland Garros, returning to clay courts for the first time since the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Rousteau joins renowned artists including Joan Miro in 1991, Vladimir Velickovic in 1983 and Eduardo Arroyo in 1981 whose work has been featured at Roland Garros over the years. But, in a sign of the times, he’s also brought the tradition into the future by becoming the first artist to use artificial intelligence in the creation of his poster.

According to Rousteau, he used AI to generate a reference photo, which he then repainted “dot by dot” using a color palette.

“I didn’t have time to take any photos during the tournament. I had loads of ideas in my head, but they were often impossible to realize in photographs, so I decided to use artificial intelligence,” Rousteau explains.

“For me, it was an excuse to make these impossible ideas a reality, because I really wanted to show tennis invading Paris.”

Roland Garros will take place from May 26 to June 9, 2024, while the Olympic Tennis Event will be held from July 27 to August 4 at Roland Garros.