Paris (AFP)

Henri Leconte, finalist of Roland-Garros in 1988, estimated Wednesday that it was better to "cancel" the Grand Slam tournament, postponed to September due to coronavirus, than to compete in camera, a scenario envisaged by the Federation French tennis.

"I think that doing Roland-Garros behind closed doors has no interest. An interest for whom? For the partners, certainly not," said L'Equipe. the former French champion, winner of the doubles event in 1984 with Yannick Noah.

"For the players, it will be difficult to manage. It is above all a political decision, the Federation hopes that in a few months, we may be able to play (under normal conditions) Roland-Garros (...) But the to play behind closed doors, no. For me it is better to cancel and leave for 2021 with a real season, "he continued.

In a recent interview with the Journal du dimanche (JDD), the president of the FFT, Bernard Giudicelli, did not rule out that Roland-Garros, postponed to September 20 due to the pandemic, could take place behind closed doors.

"We do not rule out any option. It would be lost in guesswork to favor one as the lack of visibility is real," said Mr. Giudicelli.

"But organizing it behind closed doors would make it possible to turn part of the economic model, television rights and partnership. This should not be overlooked," analyzed the French tennis boss.

© 2020 AFP