When Gabriel’s 65th-minute strike leveled the score against Arsenal, sporadic shouts erupted sporadically in the Roland-Garros corridors. Fans sprinted through the aisles, security personnel in navy uniforms embraced with clenched fists, and the Central Court referee granted players a brief pause to absorb the landmark news.
The celebrations from the Parc des Princes traveled through the Porte d’Auteuil gates, first arriving as faint fireworks sounds barely a few hundred meters away. No images, only echoes. Like last year’s final against Inter Milan (5-0), the tournament organizers made no provisions for football fans inside the tennis venue, where screens were dedicated exclusively to the ongoing matches.
Tense atmosphere in the press room
Between 6:00 and 9:00 PM, during the Champions League final, Roland-Garros maintained its usual hushed atmosphere. The PSG-Arsenal final felt almost secondary, overwhelmed by the intensity of the tennis competition that captivates the venue for two weeks each year. A handful of spectators wore PSG jerseys featuring Kimpembe or Pauleta, while two or three displayed Arsenal colors, including one emblazoned with Bergkamp’s name.
On Court Suzanne-Lenglen, where Moïse Kouame and Alejandro Tabilo battled, a few supporters celebrated quietly, eyes fixed on their smartphones as Ousmane Dembélé equalized in the 65th minute. The mood remained subdued—perhaps predictably so.
To catch the match, fans had to descend to the Philippe-Chatrier press room, one of the few spaces in the stadium equipped with half a dozen screens broadcasting the final. It was there that the tension peaked, splitting the crowd into two factions during the penalty shootout: English journalists on one side, French supporters and PSG fans on the other, culminating in the Parisian club’s historic back-to-back European triumph.
