Tennis: French Open delayed by 1 week due to pandemic

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - The 2021 French Open tennis tournament has been delayed by one week due to the coronavirus pandemic, the organizers said on Thursday.

"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 [French Open] tournament by one week, which will now be held from 24 May to 13 June," the French tennis federation said in a statement.

The 2021 French Open's qualifying rounds will be held on May 24-28 and the main draw will begin on May 30. The clay-court tournament in Paris will end on June 13.

Gilles Moretton, the head of the French tennis federation, said that he is pleased over the delay as it will help France welcome tennis spectators to the enlarged Stade Roland Garros, a famed Paris tennis venue.

The Stade Roland Garros was a 21-acre (8.5 hectares) complex but Moretton said that it was enlarged to at least 30 acres (12.1 hectares) as France transformed the stadium recently.

The last year tournament was also rescheduled due to the pandemic and it was held between late September and early October. In normal conditions, the French Open usually starts in the last week of May.