French Open postponed by 4 months

The French Open tennis tournament has been postponed by four months due to the coronavirus pandemic, becoming the latest sporting event to be affected by the worldwide outbreak.

The first Grand Slam, one of four major tennis events of the year, to be hit by COVID-19 was initially scheduled to be played in Paris from May 24 to June 7.

"In order to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved in the preparation of the tournament, the FFT made the decision to organise the 2020 edition of Roland Garros from 20th September to 4th October 2020," the French Tennis Federation said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The current confinement measures have made it impossible for us to continue with our preparations and, as a result, we are unable to hold the tournament on the dates originally planned," it added.

The announcement came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron ordered stringent restrictions on people's movement to slow the spread of the virus, that has killed 148 people and infected more than 6,600 in the European nation.

The FFT said ticket-holders for the French Open could either be reimbursed or change their tickets for the new dates.

The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, a combined men's and women's event considered the sport's fifth major, was the first significant change to the tennis calendar when its postponement was announced on March 8 because of COVID-19.

Last week, the ATP suspended its professional men's tennis tour for six weeks while the Women's Tennis Association on Monday suspended play until May 2.

Source: Agencies

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