PARIS: The French Open organisers have announced that the three main showcourts at Roland Garros will have up to 1,000 spectators in attendance during the first 10 days of the 2021 tournament, with the number to be increased from the quarter-finals onward.
The French Tennis Federation had earlier postponed Roland-Garros by one week, to be held from 24 May to 13 June, so as to “optimise chances of welcoming spectators”.
“The gauge is set at 35% at that moment (when the tournament starts), with a maximum of 1,000 spectators… per court, of course,” French Sports Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told TV channel France 3.
The figure will be increased to 65% from June 9 – when the quarter-finals get underway – but it will be capped at 5,000 people on Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen, Tennis365 reports.
It is a marked improvement from 2020 when only 1,000 spectators were allowed into the grounds per day after the tournament was pushed back to September.
Additionally, FFT has unveiled the changes made to the schedule of the 2021 Roland Garros tournament.
From this year, the draws for the men’s and women’s qualifying rounds, which will be played from 24th to 28th May without spectators, will feature the same number of players: 128 (in previous years, the women’s qualifying draw had 96 players).
That means 32 extra players will have the chance to win a place in the final draw. This decision will also allow the tournament to support a category of players who have been particularly affected by the Covid-19 crisis, financially-speaking.
The wheelchair and quad tennis events, which are usually held during the last week of the tournament, will be scheduled from Friday 4th to Monday 7th June so that entrants can also play in the “French Riviera Open”, one of the biggest wheelchair tennis tournaments on the international circuit.
The mixed doubles event, which was cancelled last year due to the health crisis, is making a comeback this year at Roland-Garros. The format of this competition will be altered, with 16 teams in the draw (compared with the usual 32).
