Pospisil: Players have it "much worse" at Roland Garros than US Open

Roland Garros competitors don't have the kind of facilities they did at the US Open, says Vasek Pospisil, and other players have agreed.

The tournament has two hotels occupied largely but not entirely by players, and unlike the US Open, Roland Garros is admitting 1,000 spectators each day. Players are not allowed to leave the hotel except to practice or play.

"Yeah, much worse. At least for the players, the hotel, the hotel we're staying at, it's tough," Pospisil said. "We don't have anything. The US Open, there was a much bigger effort I felt from the organization to make the time in the bubble a little bit more comfortable."

At the US Open, players had some recreational facilities, lounges and games on site and at the hotel, though they were also not allowed to go elsewhere. In Paris, have a small lounge at the hotel.

"I think almost every player I've spoken to was sharing the same opinion. Yeah, it's not easy to be stuck in the bubble. You don't want to be on-site all day because it's also a stressful environment," said Pospisil, who along with Novak Djokovic recently started the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) to represent pros on tour.

"The only place you can go is the hotel."

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Some players also would prefer not to have others at the hotel at all.

"If we are forbidden to leave, then we should not see the public there," said Dan Evans.

Before the tournament, organizers had indicated that players would not be in a fully-contained environment.

"We do not think in terms of a sealed bubble," FFT official Jean-Francois Vilotte had said.

But Denis Shapovalov said the hard-court Grand Slam he played two weeks before did "do better," and wasn't sure why Roland Garros wasn't similar. The rescheduled tournament has had to change plans because of increasing government restrictions on events and gatherings, reducing crowds from 11,500 to 1,000 just days before the start of play.

"Obviously, they didn't know if the tournament was going to happen," Pospisil said. "I don't know... if they didn't have very much time to try to make the conditions better for players, more comfortable. Obviously, some players are going to be here for two, three weeks."

The tournament is being played with safety protocols approved by local authorities.