PARIS: The French Open is set to be delayed another week into September according to a report on Friday as the claycourt major seeks a spot in the tennis calendar ravaged by the coronavirus outbreak.
Moved from traditional dates in May, Le Parisien daily reported Roland Garros will now start Sept 27 rather than Sept 20 and run to Oct 11.
The French tennis federation previously caused irritation in leading tennis circles by unilaterally moving their tournament. It clashed with the now postponed Laver Cup and was due to start a week after the US Open finished in New York on Sept 13.
Delaying by another week would allow the ATP and WTA tours a week to rearrange a postponed clay event – potentially in Madrid or Rome – as a grand slam tune-up should the US Open not be able to start as planned on Aug 31.
Another advantage would be avoiding a clash with the rearranged Tour de France, now due to finish in Paris on Sept 20.
Neither French Open organizers nor regular tour chiefs commented on the potential delay.
All action is currently suspended until at least mid-July, and organizers of the Berlin grass-court tournament originally scheduled for June 15-21 said Friday the event could not be postponed until later in the year and will now take place at the same slot next year.
“The worldwide development of the coronavirus pandemic and the according measures and restrictions make it impossible to stage the tournament this year,” tournament director Barbara Rittner said. – dpa
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