Paris (AFP)

Three months from its new dates, the hypothesis of playing Roland-Garros behind closed doors is "absolutely" ruled out by the French Tennis Federation (FFT) which organizes it. An ambition that contrasts with what the US Open will experience only two weeks earlier.

In the first part of the new version of the world tennis calendar unveiled on Wednesday, which marks a recovery from August 3 for the WTA, and from August 14 for the ATP, Roland-Garros inherited the fortnight from September 27 to October 11, a week's difference from the date it had appropriated for general surprise in mid-March by postponing its 2020 edition from spring to fall.

In what sanitary conditions, it is still too early to say, according to the president of the FFT Bernard Giudicelli. But if the US Open will be held behind closed doors from August 31 in New York, a first for a Grand Slam, there will be public in the Parisian stands, he said Wednesday during a conference press release.

To the question "is the hypothesis of playing behind closed doors discarded?", "Absolutely", replied Bernard Giudicelli.

According to French government measures put in place to combat the spread of Covid-19, a maximum gauge of 5,000 people is currently fixed until the end of August for all sporting and cultural events.

- "Premature estimate" -

So how many Roland-Garros does he intend to welcome spectators?

"It will be a number, a percentage that will be defined by mutual agreement with the public authorities. It is still premature to be able to give even an estimate," said the president of the FFT.

"We have several work sequences by the end of the month and it is only around this time that we will be able to say how we are going to organize and market the ticket office," he continued. estimating the deadline at the "end of the month, very beginning of July".

"We are working with the public authorities on the organization of the tournament. We have not yet made a final decision," he said.

Sanitary restrictions, on the model of what the US Open will set up, comparable to putting in a bubble, with repeated tests, strict physical distancing and wearing a mask, dedicated hotel with limited surroundings, unless you rent a house outside Manhattan, trips limited to round trips between Flushing Meadows and its accommodation, are they also profiled in Paris?

"Today, we are not under restrictive assumptions," says Bernard Giudicelli.

"We carry out work fortnight after fortnight, and every fortnight, there are options that fall, there are some that consolidate, but it is still too early" to say, he adds, explaining that the FFT works "very closely with the authorities and the government".

- No reluctance -

"At this stage, there is not yet a model that has been definitively decided," he underlines. "What is certain is that we will put ourselves in a position to organize this tournament to ensure the health security of players, their entourage, all the players, and of course the public. "

Unlike the US Open, Roland-Garros does not have to contend for the moment with possible reluctance of players to the idea of ​​making the trip to the Porte d'Auteuil, according to its director Guy Forget, who has the advantage of being able to rely on a two-thirds European ATP top 100.

And the Parisian tournament saves him his week of qualifications, even if a slightly reduced format is envisaged. Not at all a detail for a whole fringe of lower ranked players, whose economic health depends considerably on it.

Who says fortnight usually spring becoming fall, says however "new constraints", recognizes Guy Forget. For example, managing the night that falls earlier: twelve courts (almost three-quarters), instead of the main four, will thus be provided with lighting. The brand new roof that houses the Central will protect it from drops.

But all that does not seem to weigh very heavy anyway for the organizers in the face of "pride in having been able to preserve a tour on clay."

© 2020 AFP