Official: French Open postponed by a week
It's official: The French Open in Paris will take place a week later than originally planned this year. The new start date is May 30th.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Apr 08, 2021, 09:18 am
The French news agency AFP and L'Equipe had already announced it on Wednesday evening, and one day later the organizers of the second Grand Slam tournament of the year officially announced it: The French Open was down by a week due to the nationwide lockdown in France moved back.
Originally the clay court classic was supposed to take place from May 23rd to June 6th, but according to the decision of the organizer, the starting shot will not be given until May 30th. Exactly two weeks later, on June 14th, the last match of the event will take place.
Hope for more viewers
The move is intended to ensure that more fans can flock to the facility during the two weeks of the tournament. The lockdown currently in force in France will end at the beginning of May according to the current status, but in view of the week won, one should now speculate with a little more viewers than last year in Paris.
In 2020, only 1000 spectators were allowed in Roland Garros per day. The tournament did not take place until autumn last year, but a postponement to a similar date would not have been possible this year due to the tight schedule in which all clay court tournaments are already firmly anchored.
Two weeks between the French Open and Wimbledon
But even so, the decision of those responsible for the French Open leaves some open questions. It is unclear, for example, whether tournaments will take place in the week from May 24th to 30th and to what extent the calendar will change in the clay court season. According to the current status, the top players would have a two-week break before the event in Paris after the event in Rome, which all the stars contest as the last tournament before the French Open.
It is also questionable what will happen to the grass tournaments in Nottingham (women), Stuttgart (men), and 's-Hertogenbosch (women and men). All of these events were planned from June 7th to 13th, but now fall into the second week of the major event in Paris. What is clear, however, is that there will be only two weeks between the French Open and Wimbledon. This was last the case in 2014.