French Open postponed by a week, to start from May 24

Paris: The French Open organisers on Thursday informed that in agreement with the French public authorities and the governing bodies of international tennis, the French Tennis Federation made the responsible decision to postpone the 2021 Roland-Garros tournament by one week, which will now be held from May 24 to June 13.

In his latest speech on March 31, the French President announced that a schedule to progressively get cultural and sporting events back up and running would be set up from mid-May onwards, subject to the improvement of the health situation.

“Using this as their starting point, the FFT worked in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and the relevant government services on potential scenarios for organising Roland-Garros, while taking the international sporting calendar into account,” read a statement from organisers.

“In this context, it appeared that postponing the tournament by one week would be the best solution. Hence the qualifying rounds will be held from May 24 to 28 and will be followed by the main draw, from May 30 to June 13,” it added.

FFT President Gilles Moretton said that the one-week postponement will give the health situation more time to improve and optimise the chances of welcoming spectators at Roland-Garros.

“I am delighted that the discussions with the public authorities, the governing bodies of international tennis, our partners and broadcasters, and the ongoing work with the WTA and ATP, have made it possible for us to postpone the 2021 Roland-Garros tournament by a week. I thank them for this,” Moretton said.

“It will give the health situation more time to improve and should optimise our chances of welcoming spectators at Roland-Garros, into our newly-transformed stadium that now covers more than 30 acres. For the fans, the players and the atmosphere, the presence of spectators is vital for our tournament, the spring’s most important international sporting event,” he added.