French Open postponed by a week because of pandemic

For the second year in a row, the traditional French Open schedule is being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The clay-court Grand Slam tennis tournament said Thursday it would push back the start of this season’s event by one week because of surging COVID-19 cases in France.

“This postponement will give us a little more time to improve the health situation and should allow us to optimize our chances of welcoming spectators at Roland Garros,” said Gilles Moretton, president of the French tennis federation. “Whether for the fans, the players or the atmosphere, crowd presence is essential to the tournament, the first international sporting event of the spring.”

The French Open was scheduled to start May 23, but first-round matches will now get underway May 30.

Last year’s tournament at Stade Roland Garros in Paris was postponed from May to September because of the coronavirus crisis, with crowds limited to 1,000 people per day. That put the French Open just a few weeks after the hard-court U.S. Open in New York.

This year’s delay will have a knock-on effect on the grass-court season, which culminates at Wimbledon, scheduled to run from June 28 through July 11.

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Tennis authorities had lengthened the gap between the French Open final and the start of Wimbledon to three weeks in 2015, giving players extra time to get used to the faster surface. But because of the delay announced Thursday, the pre-Wimbledon grass season will be reduced to two weeks again this year, with Wimbledon’s support.

“All four Grand Slam tournaments are united in their view on the importance of a meaningful build-up to every Grand Slam. ... However, given the considerable challenges ahead of the [French federation] in staging Roland Garros, and to avoid further impact on the rest of the calendar, the grass court season will be reduced by one week in 2021,” the Grand Slam board said in a statement.

Wimbledon was canceled last year because of the pandemic, the first time since World War II that the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament wasn’t played.

The move to delay this year’s French Open came as hospitals approach capacity from COVID-19 cases. To slow down the pace of infections, new nationwide restrictions have been enforced, including a three-week school closure, a month-long domestic travel ban and the closing of non-essential shops.

The French tennis federation said the decision was taken in order to maximize chances the event will be played “in front of as many spectators as possible” in a safe environment.

Butt French tennis player Alize Cornet slammed French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu for the decision.

“Our sports minister is a disaster,” Cornet told the Tennis Channel. “It’s a pretty selfish decision, to be honest, because the calendar is going to suffer from this postponement. I understand it’s not an easy time for the tournament, but we have to think about the players and the calendar.”

This year’s Australian Open was delayed by three weeks because of the coronavirus, and quarantine restrictions affected the preparations of several players.