The global tennis calendar has been thrown into further chaos after a decision by the French Open organisers to postpone the Grand Slam, with players and rival tournaments critical of the apparently unilateral move.
The event at Roland Garros, traditionally the second Grand Slam of the season, was on Tuesday moved from a May 24 start date to September 20.
The organisers said strict confinement measures imposed by the French government to tackle Covid-19 had made it impossible to continue with preparations.
The French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli said: “We have made a difficult yet brave decision in this unprecedented situation.”
But the new dates mean the tournament would start just a week after the US Open, if that event remained in its original slot.
The US Open organisers have responded to the shock decision with a statement obliquely criticising the unilateral changes to the Grand Slam calendar.
The switch also results in clashes with ATP tournaments in Metz, St. Petersburg, Chengdu, Sofia and Zhuhai as well as WTA events in Guangzhou, Seoul, Tokyo and Wuhan.
The United States Tennis Association said currently there were no plans to alter the schedule for the August 25-September 13 US Open and stressed any potential changes would be made only after consultation with other stakeholders.
“At a time when the world is coming together, we recognise that such a decision should not be made unilaterally,” the statement read.
“Therefore the USTA would only do so in full consultation with the other Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA and ATP, the ITF and our partners, including the Laver Cup.”
The Laver Cup exhibition team competition, heavily promoted by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, was supposed to take place from September 25-27 in Boston but will now clash with the rescheduled French Open.
Wimbledon organisers said they were still proceeding on the basis that the grasscourt Grand Slam would start on June 29, while organisers of the Australian Open are continuing to work towards the usual January start for the 2021 edition.
The ATP Tour, WTA Tour and International Tennis Federation have yet to respond publicly to the move but some players have taken to social media to criticise the lack of consultation.
British doubles player Jamie Murray queried the apparent lack of coordination at the top of the game.
It also caught WTA chief Steve Simon by surprise, as well as former US and Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka.
“Excusez moi???” tweeted Osaka, while Romania’s Sorana Cirstea took issue with the method of communication. “What??? Again finding out through twitter...” she wrote.
