ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

November 8, 2026

Cedric Pioline

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Congratulations on the tournament so far. Obviously this has been a particularly celebratory tournament. Are there any particular highlights for you from this tournament that you would adopt into next year's version?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Thank you. Good question. (Laughter.)

No. Of course we will have a debrief after the tournament, but yeah, if we can keep some things. But celebration for the winner will be quite different from it used to be. I'm pretty sure that one, we will keep it for years, because it will be, in my opinion, an improvement or upgrade compared to what we had.

Of course, because it's the 40th edition, it was easy to have the storytelling. I think it worked pretty well, this mix between the generations with former champions, but we have only 29 champions, so I don't know how many years we can do it (smiling).

Yeah, probably, probably we will try to keep. I mean, it's our duty to every year try to bring something new, new ideas, and to keep the event attractive. So I'm sure we will keep something from this year.

Q. The surface was the quickest of other years. Did you have return from the players? Were they were satisfied? What do you think for the next year also?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: You know, this topic is very subjective, because regarding the style of playing from the different players, some are happier than some others.

I think we had some comments regarding the surface saying, like, it's faster, which in my opinion it's good, because we could see through the week that it's been a long time I didn't see the players go to the net as much as this week.

So I think for the show, it's better. It's better than too slow. So we'll talk about next year, but I'm sure it will be something close, close to what we had, because in my opinion, it's positive.

We always try to find the good balance so every style of playing can play, you know, on not too fast, not too slow, so something like medium or medium high.

Q. Cedric, would you ever consider expanding the tournament? I know the players don't particularly like more than a week, but would you consider applying to put an extra couple of days into this tournament? And would you see that as a positive, or you'd rather just leave it as it is?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: It's a complex question, because it's an ATP event. We can't do whatever we want. There is, like, big numbers behind it. If we extend, I mean, you have to pay, it's extra week, very complicated for the calendar.

But to be more specific, I think at the end of a year, it's better for the players to have, like, a smaller format. They are tired, and it's normal. I don't know if it's correct, but Zverev played 84 matches arriving here, which is huge. Okay, it's his choice to play a lot of tournaments, but also, he's performing. He's almost going to Final.

He went to a final of many, many events this year, so, I mean, we are very happy about this 56 draw, one week. It's quick, dynamic, very challenging for the players.

From the first round, we have very attractive matches, so I don't see why we should do any change. To be honest, of course we are aware about the comments of the players regarding the length of some other Masters 1000.

So it's not really a question. It was not a request from ATP, and it's not a request from the tournament. So we will stay as we are (smiling).

(In French.)

CEDRIC PIOLINE: I think maybe I could add a few things. I could give you some input.

For the second year in a row, we have more than 200,000 spectators. In 2025, it was the year we had the turning point, we changed, and this year we actually confirmed the success of last year.

This year, we do not have school holidays, so it is a bit different from last year. It was important for us to be sustainable in terms of success in this venue. For all those that want to watch the best worldwide tennis players, that's an important point.

Second thing, I hope you will share this opinion of mine, I think that the center court, because the experience on Court 1 and 2 was already excellent, but I think the center court has given a wonderful experience.

Of course also the surface is faster, so the tennis is more aggressive on this court. And fans really like this venue, made it its own, and we're delighted about this.

We want the atmosphere to be vibrant. We want people to have fun. We want a wonderful, high-profile matchup for the final with the No. 4 worldwide and Alcaraz. We don't need to introduce him anymore.

Also the deep run of the French players, and especially the deep run of Luca van Assche, that was a wonderful adventure for this tournament. It's always wonderful, because we know that the crowd is very much supporting French players because it is a home crowd.

So it's wonderful. This tournament is booming. It is attractive. And it is a must-attend tournament during the autumn before the Masters ATP Finals. And this is where Arthur Fils managed to buy his first ticket to a Masters. And until the quarterfinals, we had some uncertainties with Fritz who had some match points against Alcaraz, and after Alcaraz, Paul was knocked out. These were the two that could still qualify.

This is the message that I wanted to convey, because I think this is important to say it. When the momentum is on the right track, we should say it. I am confident that the future editions will be full of vibrant matches with a wonderful atmosphere, as well.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. In terms of atmosphere, at the beginning of the tournament, there were some messages from umpires saying, Please stop making noise, when actually the atmosphere was rising. Of course it was not what we had at Accor Arena in Bercy. Maybe we should tell them something and say, Okay, let the crowd cheer. Because when you had kids that tried to cheer loud, the umpires would say, Please, quiet down.

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Thank you to have mentioned that. We keep that in mind. We did notice that, and without getting into complex or not complex operating regulation details, because we have to abide by the ATP regulations. Regulations are a good thing, but sometimes the interpretation of the rule is another kettle of fish.

Without name-shaming anyone, when you have the mic and you have the lead, you have to have some empathy with the crowd, to feel the crowd, and to know whether you should ask for silence for the game to resume or if we can let the crowd cheer.

We need to strike the right balance. We have discussions ongoing right now to raise awareness on that point.

We are indoors, as a tournament, so it's specific features. I don't know what the crowds are for every indoors tournament when players play, but I think they're quite satisfied to have a vibrant atmosphere, to feel energy in the venue.

When you are on the court and the atmosphere seems to be indifferent, then it's hard for a player to play. But we know that here it's very lively. Of course we always make a comparison with the previous venue, but I think this will disappear gradually, because now the full-fledged venue is Plenitude Arena. This is where we will actually write down our history.

It is a current topic. Thank you for having mentioned that. We did notice this, as well.