While news of sporting events being cancelled or postponed is no longer a surprise, the organisers of tennis major French Open have managed to buck the trend by announcing new dates for the clay court event.
The French Open has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will take place from September 20 to October 4, organisers said on Tuesday.
The Grand Slam event was scheduled to taken place from May 24 to June 7, but organisers tweeted: “The confinement measures in place make it impossible to prepare and organise the tournament on the dates initially scheduled.”
The new dates would mean the tournament would start just one week after the US Open, if that event remains in its scheduled slot.
While the decision is, of course, understandable the timing and nature of it has left the tennis community in shock, especially regarding the rescheduled dates. Going by the reactions on Twitter, the players and those covering the sport were as much stunned by the decision as they were with the lack of proper communication.
excusez moi??? https://t.co/kb5wi27dRc
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) March 17, 2020
This is madness. Major announcement by Roland Garros changing the dates to one week after the US Open. No communication with the players or the ATP.. we have ZERO say in this sport. It’s time. #UniteThePlayers https://t.co/e0xc7Lor0b
— Vasek Pospisil (@VasekPospisil) March 17, 2020
What???Again finding out through twitter... https://t.co/PtrINFoR6k
— Sorana Cirstea (@sorana_cirstea) March 17, 2020
Una vez más... nos enteramos por Twitter. 🤦♂️🤷♂️ @atptour https://t.co/owFqHTXDu3
— diego schwartzman (@dieschwartzman) March 17, 2020
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. Roger didn’t miss the Clay season after all. https://t.co/VbqOyqno54
— Mardy Fish (@MardyFish) March 17, 2020
Wawrinka pic.twitter.com/gOJmRPMF9a
— Nikhila (@kokudum) March 17, 2020
https://t.co/5HYhkyFtjQ pic.twitter.com/TjLFdq2eXQ
— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) March 17, 2020
Find me 1 player who knew that decision 🤔🧐😂
— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) March 17, 2020
Quite a twist that the French Open's new dates put it in direct conflict with the WTA event in Wuhan, where all of this began
— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) March 17, 2020
I mean. Will some players prefer to practice on clay to prepare RG before the US Open?
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) March 17, 2020
Would some of them skip the US Open to focus on RG? But that's not possible as both events are mandatory.
What a mess.
— Magnus Norman (@normansweden) March 17, 2020
September:
— Ricky Dimon (@Dimonator) March 17, 2020
- U.S. Open
- French Open
- Kentucky Derby
- The Masters
- NBA Finals
what a world.
Holy moly.
— Matthew Willis (@MattRacquet) March 17, 2020
US Open almost immediately followed by Roland Garros. That’s going to be interesting.
Laver Cup almost certainly cancelled/posponed as it’s meant to be the same slot in the calendar. https://t.co/Vtl8naAY2M
Ummm isn’t that like a week after US open?! https://t.co/zD2Figh1MT
— Laura Robson (@laurarobson5) March 17, 2020
Events during those weeks
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) March 17, 2020
ATP:
- Metz
- St. Peters
- Laver Cup
- Chengdu
- Sofia
- Zhuhai
(- Davis Cup the week before)
(-Tokyo and Beijing the week after...)
WTA
- Guangzhou
- Seoul
- Tokyo
- Wuhan (lol)
- Tashkent
(Hiroshima, Zhengzhou the week before)
(Beijing the week afrer)
(With AFP inputs)
