When I was checking the weather forecast for Paris about a week ago, I noticed the temperature today was going to be exceptionally hot. Miami hot. Singapore hot. It certainly was.

Despite the fact that I live in South Florida, I’ve never adjusted to the heat. Nevertheless, it was off to Roland Garros for tennis this morning.

I visited the French Open in 2019 and consider Roland Garros to be my favorite venue in tennis. It’s a compact tennis campus, with great stadiums and a beautiful botanical garden. Walking from the Metro, I began to feel the heat. I started at outer court 14 to watch the USA’s Danielle Collins. In the final year of her career, she’s had a bit of a renaissance. It was nice to be up close, although the sun was beating down unabated.

I moved to the Suzanne Lenglen stadium and caught some of Fritz vs Draper then Jasmine Paolini. Lenglen recently received a roof which has really enhanced the atmosphere. It helps you feel like you are right on top of the court.

After four hours in the baking heat, I left earlier than planned to spend some time in the air conditioning of my hotel room. I’m very thankful that this hotel approaches AC the way we do in Florida – the small room cools down quite quickly.

After a rest, it was time to head to swimming. The swimming venue is an arena in La Defense, a fairly close suburb of central Paris where most Parisian skyscrapers are located.

The arena itself, with tight concourses and poorly run concessions was definitely not a favorite. But the swimming action was great. I was able to see a few finals and semifinals, including medal races for women’s 100m backstroke, men’s 800m and 4x200m relay. They keep the races going – a minute or two after one finishes, the next begins.

The atmosphere was electric – particularly when French swimmer Leon Marchand was swimming. The French cheer him the way Americans had cheered Michael Phelps. When he would come up for air during the backstroke, the whole arena would chant “Leon!” Great moments at the pool.

I hustled out after the last race, caught a RER train back to St Lazare where I am staying and am back in the AC again.

Up next tomorrow – more tennis, this time with Novak Djokovic on the main court Philippe Chatrier. The forecast is for rain, but luckily the court has a roof 👍