French Open officials announced Tuesday that the season’s second tennis Grand Slam will be postponed until September because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, a decision that sent ripples through the U.S. Tennis Association, whose U.S. Open traditionally occupies that part of the tennis calendar.
Calling the decision by the French Tennis Federation a unilateral one, USTA officials say the Open in New York City, scheduled to begin Aug. 31, could be moved to a later date with the French Open now set to run from Sept. 20 to Oct. 4, beginning only a week after the U.S. Open ends.
“At a time when the world is coming together, we recognize that such a decision should not be made unilaterally,” the USTA said in a statement. “Therefore the USTA would only [act] in full consultation with the other Grand Slam tournaments, the [Women’s Tennis Association] and [Association of Tennis Professionals], the [International Tennis Federation] and our partners, including the Laver Cup.”
It was a decision that caught the attention of Naomi Osaka, who has won two Grand Slam events (one of which was the U.S. Open). “Excusez moi???” she tweeted in response to the French announcement.
The clay-court tournament, the second of the sport’s four Grand Slam events, originally was scheduled to run from May 24 to June 7 in Paris. But on Saturday, French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced that all nonessential businesses must close until further notice. The ATP and WTA tours Wednesday extended their suspensions of play through June 7, wiping out the spring clay-court season. The U.S. Open is the last of the season’s Grand Slam events.
“The current confinement measures have made it impossible for us to continue with the dates originally planned,” the French Open said in a statement.
“This is madness,” Vasek Pospisil, a member of the ATP player council, tweeted. “Major announcement by Roland Garros changing the dates to one week after the U.S. Open. No communication with the players or the ATP. [W]e have ZERO say in this sport. It’s time. #UniteThePlayers.”
Tournaments and sporting events are jockeying for position in what hopefully will be a jammed fall sports calendar if the coronavirus is under control. Earlier in the week, U.S. Open organizers announced that “we are not implementing any changes to the 2020 U.S. Open” but acknowledged “that circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 virus are rapidly changing.”
Should both events go on as planned, a six-day turnaround between majors would be massively tricky for many players. Grand Slams are the most grueling of all tennis tournaments; they take place over two weeks and require men to play best-of-five-set matches rather than the best-of-three-set matches they play during the rest of the year. The change in surfaces also would pose an unusual challenge: The U.S. Open is played on hard courts and the French on red clay, which requires entirely different footwork and strategy. Most players gradually ease from clay-court season in spring to hard-court season in late summer and fall.
Former men’s professional player Guy Forget, now the French Open’s tournament director, recently told L’Equipe magazine that playing the tournament without spectators could be explored, but the French ban on large gatherings ended that hope. “We have made a difficult yet brave decision in this unprecedented situation, which has evolved greatly since last weekend,” Bernard Giudicelli, president of the French Tennis Federation, said in a statement. “We are acting responsibly, and must work together in the fight to ensure everybody’s health and safety.”
On Monday, an All England Club spokeswoman said Wimbledon, the season’s third major tournament, was still scheduled to be played beginning in late June but that club officials “will act responsibly, in the best interests of wider society.” Wimbledon was not played during World War I and World War II.
Other scheduling conflicts could arise. Although Grand Slams are the most important tournaments of the season and may well take precedence no matter what a player has on the docket, many players travel to Asia from Sept. 20 to Oct. 4 for tournaments in China, South Korea and Japan.
This year, the Laver Cup also would conflict with the French Open. The three-day men’s team event is set to begin Sept. 25 in Boston. It offers no rankings points nor prize money, but it does promise hefty appearance fees and may be an attractive option for those players who don’t want to make the quick transition to clay.
The showcase could account for one major absence at the French Open: Roger Federer. The Laver Cup is the Swiss champion’s brainchild along with longtime agent Tony Godsick, and Federer has shown he is willing to skip Roland Garros if it better suits his schedule.
