This year's French Open at Roland Garros has been postponed by one week and will now end on June 13, with Wimbledon due to start on June 28; organisers also announce the introduction of night sessions on Court Philippe Chatrier beginning at 9pm local time
Thursday 8 April 2021 14:08, UK
This year's French Open at Roland Garros has been postponed by one week and will now run from May 30 to June 13, with Wimbledon starting two weeks later.
The French Tennis Federation (FFT) is hoping for current pandemic restrictions in France to be relaxed by the end of May, enabling it to be played "in front of as many spectators as possible" in a safe environment.
Had the French Open gone ahead on May 23, the grounds would have been empty due to tougher COVID-19 measures announced by President Emmanuel Macron.
Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu has previously said it was possible the Grand Slam could be postponed for the second year amid the COVID-19 crisis. Last year's tournament had been pushed back to September because of the health crisis with crowds limited to 1,000 per day.
"Tennis has required an agile approach to the calendar over the past 12 months in order to manage the challenges of the pandemic, and this continues to be the case. The decision to delay the start of Roland-Garros by one week has been made in the context of recently heightened COVID restrictions in France, with the additional time improving the likelihood of enhanced conditions and ability to welcome fans at the event. Both the WTA and ATP are working in consultation with all parties impacted by the postponement to optimize the calendar for players, tournaments, and fans, in the lead up to and following Roland-Garros. Further updates will be communicated in due course."
The 2020 tournament was rescheduled due to the pandemic, eventually taking place in late September and early October and took place in front of limited crowds. The event usually begins on the fourth Sunday in May, ending in early June.
With the announcement that Roland Garros will start a week later, it will bring a return of the old two-week gap between Roland Garros and Wimbledon, which was changed to three weeks in 2015.
The postponement is set to have an impact on the ATP and WTA calendars, especially on the grass-court season with tournaments scheduled to start on June 7 in s'Hertogenbosch (WTA and ATP) Stuttgart (ATP) and Nottingham (WTA).
"The decision to move Roland Garros will obviously create a knock on effect for the summer grass court season. We are currently looking at the implications for our events and if we will need to make changes to our calendar. We will communicate any updates to all parties as soon as possible."
Organisers have also announced the introduction of night sessions on Court Philippe Chatrier this year, with three day matches and one night match.
The fourth match will be played at 9pm local time and could be either a men's or women's match, depending on the order of play for the day.
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