“We Have No Intention of Canceling”- French Open Responds to Coronavirus Threats

Published 03/13/2020, 3:25 PM EDT

Coronavirus pandemic doesn’t seem to eradicate anytime soon, the global economy has been hit majorly, air travel is almost pulled up, schools have been shut and yes, no tennis for the next six weeks. Despite the on-going global havoc, the French Open tournament organizers have announced some positive news.

One of the tennis followers was curious to know whether Roland Garros 2020 will get underway or not. Upon receiving the query, the tournament reverted with a positive reply. Roland Garros stated they have ‘no intention of canceling’ the second Grand Slam of the year amid the coronavirus widespread.

“There are still a few months to go before the event. For the time being, we have no intention of canceling the event. The French Tennis Federation will, as is its responsibility, follow the government’s lead when making any such decisions,” French Open organizers stated.

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Presently, ATP and WTA have ordered a six-week suspension of professional tennis all across the world. All tennis tournaments are scheduled to start on April 20, 2020. But is the COVID-19 pandemic persists, the suspension period might be extended.

The main draw matches of Roland Garros 2020 is scheduled to get underway on May 25. Hopefully, the global ruckus is expected to settle by then, and things are back to normal.

The French major tournament is also considering hosting the event with no spectators in the stands. But, by doing so the Paris major will lose more than 200 million Euro from their annual revenue.

French Open tournament director’s statement

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“If it is going to be viable there has to be time. But at the same time, it’s going to arrive rapidly. The unknown is the amount of time it is going to be going on,” Guy Forget, French Open tournament director told L’Equipe.

“I think, as a priority, of the health of the spectators and players. We will explore all the possibilities but anyway, it is not going to be up to the French federation. We will follow the recommendations of the government.”

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Besides the positive response from the second Grand Slam of the season, the grass-court major Wimbledon had a diverging approach towards the virus’ jolt. The Wimbledon organizers will consider the cancelation of the event rather than holding it without any spectators.

Know more – Reports: Wimbledon 2020 Organizers Hint at Cancelation of Championships

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.

“We Have No Intention of Canceling”- French Open Responds to Coronavirus Threats

French Open tournament director’s statement

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