Run Set & Match: Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse fires a winning forehand over 10K at Roland-Garros

Under a shy but cooperative sun, more than 11,000 runners turned Roland-Garros into a giant race track on Sunday morning. The 10K Run Set & Match, the most tennis-inspired race on the calendar, pulled off its first challenge: bringing sport, atmosphere and prestige together in a setting usually reserved for backhands and aces. The race started on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, a venue more accustomed to passing shots than mass starts. “You don’t get to run on the clay at Roland-Garros every day. It feels like you’re playing a match against yourself here,” one participant told us, still covered in orange dust. 

A few strides later, the runners headed towards the Bois de Boulogne, passed the Auteuil racecourse and sped along the forest paths before returning to one of tennis’s great temples. Ten kilometres over asphalt, gravel and clay, a nod to the different surfaces of the Grand Slam. A playful course, then, but not as easy as it looked. With surges and false flats, it demanded as much rhythm as balance, and some compared the effort to an endless tie-break.

Strong times and a finals-worthy atmosphere

In the men’s race, the fastest runner of the day was Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse, French half-marathon champion at Auray-Vannes on September 14, who won the 10K in 30:42, sending his victory down the line like a passing shot. Behind him, Thomas François (31:28) and Nicolas Weber (31:43) completed a tightly contested podium in a race that stayed lively from start to finish.

In the women’s race, Johanna Lai delivered a consistently strong performance in 37:50, ahead of Marianne Emo (39:01) and Laurie Mora (39:03). Three familiar names on the Paris racing scene, all of whom found a course at Porte d’Auteuil that suited them perfectly.

Spectators packed the stands of Court Philippe-Chatrier to welcome the finishers, acting as human energy stations: cheers for every arrival, huge claps, and even the occasional “Allez!” worthy of a Nadal-Djokovic final. The emotion at the finish, inside the legendary clay arena, was worth a hard-fought set win.

A race designed as a show

Run Set & Match is more than a sporting event: it’s an experience. At the finish village, runners could test their serves on mini courts, grab something to eat to a musical soundtrack and even bump into a few tennis players out for “a bit of fun”. Between selfies on the clay, participants were treated to a quick tour of the stadium’s behind-the-scenes areas, locker rooms included, a rare privilege for sports fans.

The children had their own tournament too: several mini-races, from 400 metres to 1.7 kilometres, gave them a taste of the atmosphere, complete with medals and cheers at the finish. That is the real strength of this event: it tells a story. An urban race, certainly, but one dressed in history, symbolism and passion. A gathering where the goal is not only to chase a time, but to enjoy a sporting interlude in an iconic venue.

At the finish line, the faces said it all: fatigue mixed with euphoria, and the satisfaction of having “won their match” against the distance. Run Set & Match 2025 confirmed that it is not just another race in Paris, but an event in its own category, somewhere between spectacle and performance. And ultimately, you can’t help thinking that if Roland-Garros was buzzing so much on Sunday, it was because it had found a new ball to play: the running ball.

✔ All the results from the 2025 edition of Run Set & Match.