The 2025 edition of the world’s most prestigious clay court tennis tournament, Roland-Garros, once again showcased technological innovation in live sports production. For over 20 years, the MultiCam Robotics teams have been involved in delivering robotic systems for match coverage. Since 2023, MultiCam has partnered with Canon to expand its camera and lens offering, providing a comprehensive solution to technical service providers in charge of live broadcast operations.
Roland-Garros production team:
- Whisper – Production company on behalf of the FFT
- Gravity Media – Technical services provider for main court coverage and RF equipment
- Timeline TV – Remote production for outer courts from base in London, with EVS systems
- MutiCam Robotics – provision of PTZ cameras, robotic heads, and control systems
Several key zones were equipped with remotely operated camera systems:
Outer courts
Among the twelve outer courts, ten were equipped with two Canon CR-N700 PTZ cameras and one Spirit robotic head fitted with a Sony P50 camera and a Canon CJ12ex4.3B IASE S wide-angle motorised lens. Operators had access to two types of control panels: a Canon RC-IP1000 panel dedicated to one PTZ, and a Spirit Remote Panel for controlling the second PTZ and the Spirit Head via XC protocol integration.
Courts 6 and 7 were each equipped with two Spirit Heads carrying broadcast cameras and Canon motorized lenses.
France Télévisions Terrace
This studio, located on the edge of Court Philippe-Chatrier, was used for live broadcasts during the tournament.
The setup included three Spirit Head Mini units and one three-section Spirit Lift column, all controlled by a single operator using the multiCAM Pilot system.
Venue and beauty shots
A wide network of cameras was deployed across various points of the stadium – such as the roof of Court Suzanne-Lenglen – and at iconic Parisian landmarks like Place de la Concorde and Galeries Lafayette. These cameras captured scenic and contextual footage of the tournament in the heart of Paris, available to broadcasters and international media for highlights, warm-up shots, and player walk-ons.
Given the outdoor nature of these setups, Canon CR-X500 cameras were selected for their robustness and powerful zoom. Of the five units deployed, three were mounted on 70 metre-high cranes. To ensure image clarity throughout the three week event, a custom weatherproofing system was implemented. While the CR-X500s come with built-in wipers, MultiCam added a remote-controlled washer system. IP conversion and SMPTE fibre transmission allowed full remote control from the production hub in London.
Additionally, nine CR-N700 units were installed, each equipped with protective enclosures.
Challenges
Stan Walbert, MutiCam Systems’ co-founder and CEO, commented on the challenges for this year’s Roland-Garros production: “One of the key technical challenges this year was enabling the Timeline team in London to take full remote control of all Canon PTZs and Spirit robotic heads deployed across the outer courts of Roland-Garros. Operating these systems from hundreds of miles away requires ultra-low latency, high reliability, and absolute precision, especially for live tennis coverage where every camera movement is visible and must feel natural.
“To achieve this, engineers from MutiCam and Canon worked closely together to fine-tune the control chain and network infrastructure. This meant ensuring responsiveness and fluidity in command execution, so that operators in London experienced the same immediacy as if they were on site in Paris. Synchronisation between video feeds and camera movement feedback was also critical to give operators confidence in their shots.
“Another challenge was scalability: with multiple robotic heads spread across the Roland-Garros site, the system had to guarantee consistent performance and stability under heavy load,” continues Walbert. “Our joint teams focused on resilience and redundancy to avoid any disruption, as well as on optimising bandwidth use so that camera control remained unaffected even under peak traffic conditions.
“The end result was a workflow where operators could deliver high quality coverage from London with the same level of creative control as being on site, while reducing travel, costs, and the environmental footprint of the production.”
Maintaining uninterrupted operation regardless of weather conditions – especially for inaccessible setups such as the 70 metre-high crane cameras – was also an issue, requiring advanced planning and engineering to guarantee both waterproofing and remote cleaning capabilities.
The FFT required all outdoor cameras to meet 3G HDR and IP55 standards. Canon’s PTZ range was the only one on the market meeting these specifications.
Discreet setup
As a premium global event, Roland-Garros requires a polished visual presentation, even behind the scenes. Canon and MultiCam delivered with compact, lightweight designs that integrated seamlessly into the aesthetic of the venue.
Altogether, 16 technicians and engineers from MultiCam Robotics were mobilised for the preparation, installation, and support phases, representing a total of 200 days’ work.
