A Roland Garros unique in the history of the tournament, with unprecedented sanitary conditions, October temperatures and a scattered audience in the stands.
What impact on the minds of the players?
For the seeds, they had to adopt a serene mental posture in order to play in almost empty stadiums, without the usual good pressure (1,000 people instead of the usual 15,000). For the younger ones on the circuit, it's certainly less pressure, and therefore an opportunity to play more relaxed against more experienced players. With nice surprises in this direction, in particular the fabulous course of the young Hugo Gaston (20 years old), who demonstrated, in addition to his effective play on clay, great determination and mental strength, I want as proof the 2 matches between Stanislas Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem. It is also the coronation of the feminine side for the young player Iga Swiatek (19) who won the women's final, and also her first grand slem. The parameters outside the athletes to manage this year (both physical, technical, tactical, and mental):
-Temperatures lower than usual (physiological impact) - The heaviness of the balls (mark + cold) - Sanitary conditions (cloakroom masks, interactions in the village) Raphaël Nadal's words on the conditions for 2020: "move forward from day to day, be patient, be positive, and capture positive vibes every day of the tournament ..." Bravo for his 13th victory!
Mental preparation before the tournament
All the previous parameters are integrated into the mental preparation, before the tournament, in particular on the aspects: - Management of the unusual and the unexpected (parasitic thoughts) - Breathing and body temperature - Mental imagery