After having decided to postpone the Roland-Garros tournament from May to September, due to the epidemic due to the coronavirus, and taking into account the possible evolution of the latter, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) does not exclude that the competition can take place behind closed doors.
"We don't rule out any options. It would be lost in guesswork to favor one, as the lack of visibility is real ", said its president, Bernard Giudicelli, in an interview with Sunday newspaper, May 10.
"Organizing it behind closed doors would allow part of the economic model, television rights and partnership to run. This should not be overlooked ", added the boss of French tennis, who also said that the clay slam, postponed to September 20, could possibly be delayed another week: “On September 20 or 27, it doesn't change much. "
Refunded tickets
In an interview on the show "Tout le Sport" on France 3, on May 5, the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu said that "Les Rola stadiumsnd have many places to fill, it would be the worst solution to dispute it behind closed doors », while specifying that for the tennis tournament, as for the cycling Tour de France, "We will not hesitate to do so if the survival of these sports is at stake".
Thursday, May 7, the FFT announced that all tickets already purchased for internationals from France will be refunded.
World tennis has been stopped since the beginning of March and until at least mid-July. The Wimbledon tournament, which was to be played June 29 to July 12, was canceled by its organizers. As for the US Open, it remains on schedule (August 31 to September 13).
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