Earthquake on the tennis planet. The Roland-Garros tournament, which was originally scheduled to take place from May 24 to June 7, has been postponed due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) announced on Tuesday. “The Covid-19 health crisis affects all populations,” she said in a statement. In order to guarantee the health and safety of all those involved in the preparation of the tournament, the French Tennis Federation has decided to organize the 2020 edition of Roland-Garros from September 20 to October 4. “
From the organizers’ point of view, this discrepancy does not present any major problem. “The modernization of its stadium makes it possible to organize the tournament during this period,” said the FFT, with reference to the removable roof which now covers the Central court and the lighting of certain other courts.
But at the circuit level, this unprecedented reprogramming of Roland-Garros at the end of September foreshadows a traffic jam and back and forth between exceptional surfaces in world tennis: the lifting of the Grand Slam on clay will thus begin in theory only a week after the end of the US Open, which takes place on Hard, in New York.
“This is madness”
In addition, it will collide head-on with the fourth edition of the Laver Cup, a team competition which opposes Europe to the rest of the world on the model of the Ryder Cup in golf, which is to take place from September 25 to 27 in Boston. . Led by Roger Federer, should this young event be erased in favor of Roland-Garros? The French lifting of the Grand Slam will also disrupt the Asian tour of the WTA, which is to follow the US Open.
The initial reactions to this postponement turned out to be rather fresh. On his Twitter account, the Canadian Vasek Pospisil (93rd player in the world and member of the players’ council) put power in his forehand: “This is madness. […] There was no communication with the players or ATP. We have no communication in this sport. “
This is madness. Major announcement by Roland Garros changing the dates to one week after the US Open. No communication with the players or the ATP .. we have ZERO say in this sport. It’s time. #UniteThePlayers https://t.co/e0xc7Lor0b
– Vasek Pospisil (@VasekPospisil) March 17, 2020
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The Covid-19 pandemic has paralyzed the male and female tennis circuits since the cancellation of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 in early March. In the process, the ATP decided to suspend its activities until April 26, the WTA until May 2. This break has already postponed the final phase of the Fed Cup, scheduled for mid-April in Budapest.
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