French Open postponed by another week, to start on Sep 27 with fans

The Roland Garros event will now be held from September 27 with spectators

french-open-tennis [File] The 2020 French Open, which was originally scheduled to be held in May, was postponed to September 20 due to the pandemic | Reuters

The rescheduled French Open has been pushed by another week and will start on September 27 with fans, the French tennis federation (FFT) has announced.

The French Open main draw will now be played at Roland Garros from September 27 to October 11. The qualifying event will be held from September 21.

In a statement, the FFT said it had consulted with the ATP, WTA and International Tennis Federation (ITF) to push the marquee tournament by an additional week. It is working with the French government for measures to ensure the safety of players and spectators.

“The FFT is preparing the tournament with the state services in order to define the appropriate measures which will guarantee the health and safety of all the populations present at the stadium,” it said in a statement.

The grand slam tournament, which was originally scheduled to be held in May, was postponed to September 20 as the coronavirus pandemic caused the suspension of sports activities around the globe.

Unlike the US Open, which will be held from August 31 in the absence of fans, FFT President Bernard Guidicelli said that the Roland Garros event will be held with spectators.

“It will absolutely not be behind closed doors. There is no final decision yet on the number of spectators, which will be decided on with the public authorities,” Giudicelli said.

“We are fully aware of the privilege of being able to organize Roland Garros in its usual form. Especially since the holding of qualifications will also participate in financially supporting a category of players and professional players affected by this unprecedented crisis,” the FFT president added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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