Matches at the 2020 French Open were played in front of a maximum capacity of 1,000 fans. (Photo by= Getty Images) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] The French Open was postponed for a week in the hope that more spectators will be permitted to attend. BBC Sports reported that the Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros will now run from 30 May to 13 June with qualifying the week before.
The 2021 tournament is now due to finish just two weeks before the start of Wimbledon. Its postponement is set to have an impact on the ATP and WTA calendars, with the grass-court season scheduled to start on 7 June with tournaments in s Hertogenbosch, Stuttgart and Nottingham. The ATP and WTA governing bodies said in a joint statement they were "working in consultation with all parties impacted by the postponement".
France is in a third nationwide lockdown amid a surge in coronavirus cases, which president Emmanuel Macron previously said he expected to end in mid-May. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) said postponing was the "best solution". In 2020, the French Open was postponed to autumn because of the pandemic. Rafael Nadal won the men's singles title - his 13th at Roland Garros - while Polish teenager Iga Swiatek won her first Grand Slam title in front of a crowd of 1,000 fans, which was the maximum permitted at the time.