French Open now eyeing September 27 start—report
(FILES) In this file photograph taken on May 26, 2019, a young man walks past the logo of Roland Garros displayed on a wall, on day one of The Roland Garros 2019 French Open tennis tournament in Paris. (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP)
The organizers of the French Open, who were criticized for unilaterally moving the tournament to a September start without consulting other tennis federations, could delay the event by another week, a report said Friday.
The claycourt Grand Slam could now start on September 27 instead of September 20, preceded by a week of qualification matches, Le Parisien newspaper said.
The French Tennis Federation (FFT) declined to confirm the report, but said in a statement: “The FFT is in contact with the international bodies, the ATP, WTA and ITF, and is waiting for the calendar to be confirmed by them.”
The FFT caused surprise in the tennis world by announcing in mid-March, just as France was going into lockdown because of the pandemic outbreak, that it was moving from its original May 24-June 7 slot to the September date.
If the tournament is delayed until September 27, it would give a two-week pause after the US Open, which is currently scheduled to finish on September 13.
Wimbledon, which was to have been played from June 29 to July 12, has been canceled.
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