The Roland Garros made lots of enemies when it announced unilaterally and unexpectedly the decision to postpone the event to the 20th of September. Players and organisations learned about the move only via Twitter and that caused a lot of attrition. The USTA blasted the French federation for the lack of cooperation stressing the fact that in tough times it is imperative to collaborate instead of taking unilateral decisions. Most tennis players (if not all) blasted at the Roland Garros calling the move selfish as the postponing the slam at the end of September will seriously impact 9 events.
The WTA memo
The WTA stressed its disappointment in an internal memo sent to the players calling the move “disrespectful.” Apparently, the decision was announced when the various organizations were discussing the scheduling of the various events.
This was written in the WTA memo
“As expressed, it is regrettable and frustrating that you learned about the French Tennis Federation’s decision via Twitter; it was disappointing and a surprise to us as well; the tweet went out while the WTA, ATP, ITF and Roland Garros were meeting to discuss the tournament and options; there was no advanced notice. We understand that the impact of Roland Garros’ move is large and the action disrespectful.
The Board is very aligned in recognizing that these actions are contrary to what the WTA stands for and in direct conflict of the wellbeing of its members, players and the tournaments and will continue to advocate for and identify ways to support its members.”
Obtained this memo sent by the WTA to its players. Of note: rankings are "frozen" Mar. 16 (meaning points from 2019 Indian Wells remain), so Bianca Andreescu will not be penalized – even with her prior pull-out.
The French Open comments here are wild. Story soon to @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/1luAg2l1hp
— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) March 21, 2020
Will the players boycott the Roland Garros
In the last paragraph, it seems that the WTA is not keen to have its players to compete at the French Open. If that is true and they succeed alongside the ATP, it seems that no Roland Garros will take place. Time will tell.
