Roland Garros has been raided by burglars, with the French Tennis Federation filing a complaint (Image: GETTY)
Roland Garros has been raided by burglars, with the French Tennis Federation filing an official complaint about the incident. The complex is one of the most prestigious tennis venue in the world and hosted the Olympics tennis event in the summer after staging the weeks earlier.
The Roland Garros site in Paris contains 20 courts, including the Court Philippe Chatrier, which hosts the French Open’s showpiece matches.
The destination also includes offices, a museum and a large restaurant and bar area, as well as housing the country’s national training centre.
According to French news agency AFP, a group of burglars broke into the Roland Garros grounds on Thursday night.
They ransacked offices and swiped branded items, including high-end bracelets. And the items taken are said to be worth just under £25,000.
An investigation has already been launched, with a French Tennis Federation spokesperson stating: “We’ve opened an investigation and filed a complaint.”
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Tennis coach Franco Davin had his bag stolen from the locker room during the 2018 French Open (Image: GETTY)
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The security of Roland Garros has already come under threat after players and coaches were reportedly targeted in the main locker room during the 2018 edition of the tournament.
At the time, USA’s largest Spanish-language newspaper reported that some suspicions pointed directly to a former French tennis player, but victims didn’t dare accuse him as they did not have reliable evidence.
Fabio Fognini’s coach Franco Davin had his bag stolen from the main locker room on the third day of the tournament while the player was in action against Pablo Anduja. Davin lost money and his passport, with the bag also containing sportswear.
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CCTV footage showed a person walking out of the locker room with a bag identical to the one taken from Davin. And the coach told Argentinian outlet : “We all know each other there. It was crazy to think that something like this could happen.”
He added: “They told me that no one knew him. I asked them to study the other chambers so that they could follow their path, and they didn’t. It is suspected that this is the thief, because no one could tell me who he was.
“In addition, we are dressed in the brand of the racket or the clothes that sponsor us, there is not much mystery, and this person had clothes of any other brand. The robbery was studied. But no one takes responsibility.
“In the dressing room there was a lot of concern. Rafa [Nadal], [David] Goffin, [Richard] Gasquet, [Dominic] Thiem, Juan [Del Potro] asked me every time they saw me and they couldn’t believe it. [Novak] Djokovic, the same. From then on, they all walked without letting go of their bags. It’s a mess.”