This year’s French Open has been postponed by a week due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will begin on May 30, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) said on Thursday.
The clay-court Grand Slam, which was postponed by four months last year and took place in front of limited crowds, will end on June 13, two weeks before the expected start of Wimbledon.
The grass-court Grand Slam said it would not change its dates following the French Open’s decision, which it supported. “This decision has been discussed with the Grand Slam Board, and... is fully supported by the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open,” an official Wimbledon statement said.
FFT president Gilles Moreton said they had made the decision after consulting with public authorities, the governing bodies of international tennis, and their partners and broadcasters.
“It will give the health situation more time to improve and should optimise our chances of welcoming spectators ,” he added.
France last Saturday entered a third nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, with President Emmanuel Macron saying he was hoping to “re-open”, the country around mid-May.
