French Open to allow fans in stands at the tournament

FILE PHOTO — View of the crowd at the central court during the final tennis match opposing Romania’s Simona Halep to Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko at the Roland Garros 2017 French Open on June 10, 2017 in Paris. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

PARIS — The French Open will allow fans to attend this year’s postponed tournament.

The French Tennis Federation said Thursday up to 60% of the stands can be filled with fans when play starts in September at Roland Garros.

Tickets will go on sale on July 16 for the Sept. 27-Oct. Oct. 11 tournament.

The clay-court tournament had been scheduled to start on May 24 but was postponed to Sept. 20 because of the coronavirus pandemic. It then got pushed back another week.

The FFT has prepared a health and safety protocol to ensure the safety of fans. No more than four people can sit together in one group and there must also be one chair left empty between each mini-group of people in the same row.

“The number of spectators allowed in the stadium will be 50%-60% of the usual capacity,” the FFT said. “This reduction will allow strict distancing measures to be respected.”

Wearing masks is recommended but will not be obligatory when fans line up outside or sit in the stands, but must be worn when fans are moving around inside the grounds.

Hand sanitizers will also be available.