The tennis machine is trying to find a way to reboot after the shock of the Coronavirus pandemic. Both the ATP and the WTA tours have been halted until the 13th of July, but it’s widely accepted that a new suspension will be issued and the competitions may restart in August. Obviously, one of the key issues is preserving the slams. While Wimbledon has been canceled, the Roland Garros has been postponed to September. The Us Open is still scheduled to commence by the end of August.
French Tennis Federation (FFT) president Bernard Giudicelli is open to all sorts of options, also to play without fans. During a recent interview with the Journal du Dimanche, Giudicelly revealed: “We haven’t ruled out any option. Roland Garros is, first and foremost, a story of matches and players. There is the tournament taking place in the stadium and the tournament on TV screens.
Millions of viewers around the world are waiting. Organizing it behind closed doors would allow part of the business model – television rights [which provide more than a third of French Open revenue] – to go ahead. This cannot be overlooked.”
About the new dates
There are rumors that the main draw would commence 2 weeks after the end of the Us Open. The good news is that now the organization is fully cooperating with the other government bodies. The French Tennis Federation was widely criticized for its unilateral decision to postpone the event. However, Giudicelli commented: “I have regular discussions with Andrea Gaudenzi [ATP], Steve Simon [WTA] and David Haggerty [ITF] and another call is planned next week to see how we have progressed.
We are working well together, but it is still a bit early to precisely determine the schedule.”
