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French Open: Tips for Buying Tickets Online

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Read tips for buying French Open tickets online based on my experience buying them in 2012.

***Updated 10 February 2013***

The article below was written after I successfully bought tickets online in 2012. In 2013, French Open tickets went on sale to the general public on 13 February.

Visit the Roland Garros Official Ticketing website here

Also check out my new e-Book, the French Open e-Companion, full of tips, info and links to help you make the most of your visit to Roland Garros and Paris.

———————-

In 2012 through careful planning, plus some great advice from friends on Twitter, @Ballboy2012 and I were able to get what we think are good seats for all the sessions we wanted.

At the French Open at Court Phillipe Chatrier in 2010

I’ve been to the French Open twice before. Once in 2008 after buying incredibly overpriced tickets from an agency, when it turned out that @Ballboy2012 is allergic to clay, and in 2010 when we bought tickets through my Australian Open membership and paid face value.

This was my first time buying tickets online on the day they went on sale. While the ticket buying experience is fresh in my mind I’m sharing my tips for buying French Open tix, in case it’s useful for you in future years and helps you get the tickets you’re hoping for.

Read about the Ticket Buying Process in Advance

There are limitations on how many tickets you can buy. For the show courts each individual can only purchase a total of 4 tickets over the course of the entire tournament. There are also other ticket limits that you need to know about.

Read the ticketing info on the Roland Garros website here

What time do you log on to the website?

I’m always keen to get the best seats possible and generally that means buying the tickets as soon as possible from when they are available.

My previous experience buying tickets online is mostly for the Australian Open, when tickets go on sale at 9am and I have been ready and waiting at the right time and got connected straight away.

The French Open website advised that tickets were available on 15 February but not the time they would be available. I naturally assumed it would be 9am but luckily a friend on Twitter* who is very experienced at buying FO tickets advised me that it all happens at 8am and sometimes even 7am Paris time.

These are good tickets to buy from the Southern Hemisphere because instead of having to get up early, I went to the website at around 4pm Melbourne time (about 6am Paris time). At that point the website said it was “down for maintenance” or something like that.

Then when I looked at about 6.55am Paris time it said I was in a queue with a wait of about 30 minutes. It felt like the queue moved fast, probably because the website is well set up and easy to use. I didn’t pay close attention to the time but within about 25 minutes I had moved through the queue and finished buying my tickets.

*Huge thanks to @zohaib9518 for this tip because it made a huge difference to the quality of seats that we were able to buy.

Other Useful Tips

  • Create your French Open account prior to when the tickets go on sale, so you’re ready to log straight in and buy when the tickets are on sale
  • Read about the ticketing limitations in advance so you know what to expect
  • The website defaults to French, click on the British flag in the top right hand corner to switch to English
  • Plan what days and courts you would like tickets for, check the pricing and write them down in order of priority. This helps you stay focused if, like me, you freak out a little bit once you’ve actually got through and have the chance to buy your tickets!
  • Follow @rolandgarros for updates on ticketing information.

These tips are based on my own experience from 2012 but hopefully they are helpful if you’re buying tickets for future years.

At Roland Garros the main court is called Phillipe Chatrier and the next best court is Suzanne Lenglen. I love the quality of tennis that’s played in Hisense Arena, the Number 2 court at the Australian Open, during the first week so on this basis we bought most tickets for Suzanne Lenglen.

The end result of the ticket buying frenzy is that in 2012 we’ll be at the French Open on Tuesday 29 May, Saturday 2 June, Sunday 3 June and Tuesday 5 June. On the other days I’ll be watching as much as tennis as possible on TV.

Read articles and view photos from my 2012 trip to Roland Garros for the French Open.

Grand Slam Gal


Comments

  2. I am in Paris last minute and am looking for ticekts for Monday or Tuesday matches. If anyone knows where a ticket would be avilable please share!!! Write me!

  3. Hi my name is Nicolas, I am french and with my wife we decided not to go anymore to Rollans Garros 2013. If you are interested by buying 2 tickets for semi final, you can send me an email at [email protected].

    The seats are very good and the match will be for sure awesome :).

    See you soon.

  4. Trying to buy centre court tickets online from the french open main web-site from Australia and it appears to be all sold out. I assume they will be releasing some more tickets soon as i am pretty sure they’re not all sold out but i may be wrong. Also grounds passes are all sold out for the first week.

  5. Thanks for the info! Got me semifinal ticket and 4th round on Monday, all for only $200. They were sold out 30min after I booked them at 12:30am.

  7. Great tips, set my alarm for 1am est was in queue for 20 mins. Pickings we’re slim but I was able to get middle weekend tickets.

  8. Thank you so much for this post! Set my alarm, tried logging in a few times, finally got through to the 30 min wait screen at exactly 6h55 am Paris time. Waited less than 5 mins and got my qtrfinal tickets no problem, row 15 P-C. Hurray!! Great info. thanks again!

  9. Hello,

    Thank you so much for sharing! After having searched for information on the web using many different search terms, I finally found the information I needed on your blog. Thank you very much!

    Kind regards, Hesther.

  10. Looking for opinion….First time to a slam. Want to buy good seats. What is the Maximium height
    I should accept? and what is everbodys opinon on location. Corner or behind or side ???
    Thanks in advance for your input. Thanks for the ticket buying tip on this site. Have already created and account and will be ulp late to goet on at 7am Paris time. wait for yr replys..

  11. Hi Alda

    That sounds like a wonderful surprise! Sorry about the delay replying to your comment, as I’ve been working on my French Open e-Companion.
    I don’t believe they accept Paypal for payment of tickets.
    Good luck on the 13th buying tickets online.

    Regards
    GSG

  12. Hello!
    This year I want to make the surprise of my husband’s life 🙂 He will be 40 years old next May and I want to offer him one ticket for Roland garros Final match. because I’m not able to buy the tickets before February 13th, I was wondering if all the tickets will sold out before 🙁 What do you think?I have the plan to be in front of my computer around 5 a.m….but I’m worried for example what kind of cards do they acept? Do they acept paypal…? Thank you!

  14. Hello! I’m from the U.S. and will be in France for the French Open. I’m a little late to buy tickets anywhere other than through an agency, and was wondering if you recommended any certain company? I understand that I will have to pay a premium, but would still like a reputable place. Thank you for sharing your story!

  15. Hi Matty

    Have a look at the “tickets for outside courts” on this page as that sounds like what you’re looking for.

    http://rolandgarros.fft-tickets.com/uk/information/ticket-info/individual-tickets

    The price list pdf shows “outside courts only” costing 24 Euros but you would need to follow the links to buy tickets to see if there are any available for the days you might be there.

    Good luck and please come back and let me know how you go

    Cheers
    Mel

  16. Hello, I just may be in Europe/Paris for the first time in my 44 year old life! If I am there I just have to go to the FO! I have never even been to any pro tennis tourneys but follow the women’s tour. I’m on a very limited budget and will probably only be in Paris on the 29th and 30th. I’ve heard some people say that they have a pretty good time just watching the pros practice and such. Is there some kind of inexpensive pass where you can just walk around and see the players and maybe catch a first round match? I’m seeing 1st round tickets for like 150 Euros–as an American (where the dollar is weak) these prices seem really high!

    Any suggestions are greatly appreciated–glad to have found your site!

    Thanks, Matty

  17. I too underestimated the popularity of the tickets, but, like you, will be there on the 5th. Would love to connect to watch on TV; I am American, so would love to find a bar with the tennis channel or the like to see the matches in English!