The French Open has been postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic and now the authorities have re-scheduled the whole Grand Slam event from September 20 to October 4. The Organizers announced the latest development regarding the latest scheduling on Tuesday.
Initially, the Grand Slam event was supposed to take place from May 24 to June 7 as the organizers said:
“The current confinement measures have made it impossible for us to continue with our preparations and, as a result, we are unable to hold the tournament on the dates originally planned.”
The new dates would mean the competition would begin just one week after the US Open if that event remains in its scheduled slot.
“The whole world is affected by the public health crisis connected with COVID-19. In order to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved in organizing the tournament, the French Tennis Federation has made the decision to hold the 2020 edition of Roland-Garros from 20th September to 4th October 2020,”
“In order to act responsibly and protect the health of its employees, service providers and suppliers during the organization period, the FFT has chosen the only option that will allow them to maintain the 2020 edition of the tournament while joining the fight against COVID-19.”
“We are acting responsibly and must work together in the fight to ensure everybody’s health and safety,”
Bernard Giudicelli, the president of the French Tennis Federation, said in a statement after the rescheduling of the Grand Slam event.
However, this decision drew immense criticism from the tennis players for the decision being made without even consulting them for the French Open scheduling. The date change will meld with the other events with almost no break forming very hectic schedules for the players. The Laver’s Cup will be played between September 25 to 27 in Boston, which is already headlined to have Roger Federer in the tournament.
This move has shocked Steve Simon, the Chief Executive of the Women’s Tour as he has also confirmed that the WTA had been taken by a surprise after French Open authorities took this decision.
This is the second high-profile sports event that was postponed on Tuesday after the UEFA Euro 2020 and Copa America football tournaments were called off.