Paris (AFP)
Exchange for a week for spectators: this is the announcement made Thursday by the French Tennis Federation (FFT) which, after consultation with the French and tennis authorities, postponed Roland-Garros for a week hoping to increase its tonnage. spectators.
Initially scheduled from May 23 to June 6, the Grand Slam tournament on clay will finally take place from May 30 to June 13 (with qualifiers scheduled from May 24 to 28) in order to "maximize the chances that the tournament can be played in front of the largest possible number of spectators (...) while ensuring the health security of each ", explained the FFT, organizer of the tournament so important for the image and especially the finances of French tennis.
Unlike last year when the FFT unilaterally decided to move the Major from spring to autumn, attracting many criticisms but thus saving the 2020 edition threatened by the pandemic, the new president of the body Gilles Moretton obtained the consent of the tennis world to win a week despite the changes in schedules that this implies, in a year when the Olympic tournaments are added.
"This decision has been discussed with the Grand Slam Board of Directors (which brings together the organizers of the four major tennis tournaments) and, given the exceptional circumstances, it receives the full support of the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, "ensure the Grand Slam tournaments in a joint statement.
- Benevolent -
The ATP and the WTA, which run the men's and women's professional circuits, also issued a joint statement highlighting the "agile approach" required to manage the tournament schedule for the past twelve months.
"The WTA and ATP are working in liaison with all the parties involved in the postponement in order to optimize the schedule before and after Roland Garros for the players, the tournaments, the fans", write the instances in a joint statement to the a much more benevolent tone than a year earlier.
Major difference with last year, when the circuit was suspended from March to August, the spring clay tournaments are all on the program, starting with the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000, canceled last year but whose 2021 edition will be played behind closed doors from April 11 to 18.
The 2021 French Open are concerned by the tournaments of 's-Hertogenbosch (ATP and WTA), Stuttgart (ATP) and Nottingham (WTA).
Another consequence of this postponement is to reduce to two weeks the time between the end of Roland Garros and the start of Wimbledon (June 28-July 11), whereas since 2015, these two Grand Slam tournaments were separated by three weeks to extend the grass season and allow players to better prepare for the London Major.
- Three weeks in 2022 -
"But, due to the enormous challenge facing the FFT in organizing Roland-Garros, and to reduce the impact on the rest of the calendar, the grass season will be reduced by one week in 2021 (...) and will return to three weeks from 2022 ", underline the Grand Slams in their press release.
Wimbledon was the only Major canceled due to the pandemic last year.
But the organizers had benefited from cancellation insurance, which the FFT did not have either last year or this year.
"The Federation did not take out insurance last year and it is especially not in the covid period that you will find an insurer! This solution unfortunately cannot be envisaged", had underlined Moretton to the 'AFP March 31.
In the end, the Parisian clay will welcome its tournament in the spring, in the sun, perhaps with the public (the gauge in autumn 2020 had been reduced to 1,000 daily spectators), with night sessions for the first time.
The opportunity for Rafael Nadal, who will be the inevitable favorite, to win a 14th title at Roland Garros to become the sole record holder for trophies in Majors (21).
© 2021 AFP