Elina Svitolina believes the first week culling of Roland Garros seeds is being caused by the tournament’s funereal atmosphere.
Only a maximum of 1,000 spectators a day are allowed on the tournament site due to coronavirus restrictions.
Over the two-week duration, that would mean a total of just 15,000 compared to 500,000 fans who crammed the 2019 event.
“Something is missing. I really love to play in front of many people, big stadiums,” said third seed Svitolina after reaching the last 16 on Friday with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova.