By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, November 3, 2020
"If that would happen again next year, we will probably in an earlier stage try to imagine to again move Roland Garros a bit later in the season," Roland Garros tournament director Guy Forget said.
Photo credit: Roland Garros Facebook
The Coronavirus crisis prompted the first French Open staged in autumn this year.
If the pandemic persists, Roland Garros will make another seasonal shift in 2021, says tournament director Guy Forget.
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The French Tennis Federation came under fire in mid-March when it made the unilateral decision to move Roland Garros from its traditional May spot in the schedule to September without consulting its Grand Slam partners or the pro tours first.
Forget said if the COVID-19 pandemic continues, then officials will not hesitate to make another schedule shift in 2021 although this time they will work with their partners before rescheduling the clay-court Grand Slam.
"If that would happen again next year, we will probably in an earlier stage try to imagine to again move Roland Garros a bit later in the season," Forget told the media in Paris. "So let's say if tomorrow, which would be next year, we are facing the same issues, we would probably try to do the same exercise probably."
The 2021 Roland Garros is scheduled for May 17th-June 6th.
Forget concedes the FFT's unilateral move left "some people upset" but says in restrospect the successful staging of the tournament shows it was ultimately the right decision.
"I know we have been criticized when we moved the dates of Roland Garros. We did it in a very quick way," Forget said. "We got some people upset. Some players were really surprised. We did it on our own.
"The positive thing is now those same people, and especially players, told us that it was the right thing to do. So it worked."