Paris (AFP)
Roland-Garros will welcome up to 20,000 spectators on all of its courts for its 2020 edition rescheduled from September 27 to October 11, or "50 to 60% of its usual gauge", announced on Thursday the French Tennis Federation ( FFT), organizer of the tournament.
The tickets, which will go on sale July 9 for licensees and July 16 for the general public, will allow 20,000 people to go to Roland-Garros for the first rounds. The number of spectators will be limited to 10,000 for the finals. "20,000 people in the stadium is what we are used to on the day of the final," said FFT director general Jean-François Vilotte during a press conference.
The US Open, held in New York on the initial dates from August 31 to September 13, will be played behind closed doors and under very strict sanitary conditions for the players.
The health protocol for players at Roland Garros will be announced "later", said FFT president Bernard Giudicelli.
Regarding spectators, the main courts (Philippe-Chatrier, Suzanne-Lenglen and Simonne-Mathieu) can accommodate groups of up to four people side by side. Each group will be separated by an empty seat.
On the short annexes where the placement is free, "one seat out of two will be physically condemned" to avoid any regrouping.
- Wearing a mask recommended -
"If the health situation is favorable, additional tickets will go on sale in September," added Mr. Giudicelli, adding that, on the contrary, if the health situation worsened, "the organization would reimburse the excess tickets" on the basis of a draw.
"General public" tickets will be accessible to spectators around the world, without "purchase discrimination", assured Mr. Giudicelli.
But Jean-François Vilotte stressed that they "know the risks" related to their area of residence and will not be able to avail themselves "of any unforeseen circumstances" to be reimbursed for their ticket if the health authorities prohibit them from coming France.
"The wearing of the mask will be recommended around the stadium and in static" once the spectators are seated, on the other hand it will be "compulsory in dynamic phase", that is to say when traveling within the grounds of Roland-Garros , said Mr. Giudicelli.
Very soon after the circuit froze in March, the FFT decided to postpone Roland-Garros to the fall, initially scheduled for May. First rescheduled for September 20, the French Open has been postponed for another week so as to leave more time after the US Open. These two weeks of beating between the two Grand Slam tournaments will be completed by two Masters 1000 on clay (Madrid then Rome).
The professional circuits for women (WTA) and men (ATP) must resume respectively on August 3 in Palermo (Italy) and August 14 in Washington (United States).
© 2020 AFP