The maintenance of clay courts at Roland Garros begins at dawn with a dedicated team of about 180 groundskeepers who perfect the courts for the Grand Slam event. Philippe Vaillant, the head of groundskeeping, emphasizes the craftsmanship behind maintaining the clay, which is affected by weather changes. The staff rely heavily on instinct rather than technology to ensure optimal playing conditions. They use a cubic metre of water per court each day and apply strategies to retain moisture while being mindful of environmental impacts.
The almost cathedral-like silence of Court Philippe Chatrier is broken only by the thrumming of large squeegees scraping the clay: it's 6.30am and the groundstaff team quietly enters the arena to tend to the soon-to-be centuries-old ochre of Roland Garros.
'It's a real craftsman's job,' Philippe Vaillant, head of the groundskeeping department, insists of maintaining a surface that has been used at Roland Garros since 1928.
'It reacts very quickly to weather conditions, so you really have to pay close attention. It's almost like gardening,' says Vaillant, who arrived at Roland Garros in 1995.
But there are no humidity sensors or other bits of technology to help. 'It's all down to the naked eye and the feel of the shoe,' smiles Aurelien, who joined the crew in 2008.
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