French Open postponed to May 30 amid Covid-19 crisis

Rafael Nadal poses with the French Open trophy on the Galeries Lafayette Rooftop, Paris, a day after crushing Novak Djokovic in the men's final. EPA

Rafael Nadal poses with the French Open trophy on the Galeries Lafayette Rooftop, Paris, a day after crushing Novak Djokovic in the men's final. Reuters

Rafael Nadal poses with the French Open trophy on the Galeries Lafayette Rooftop, Paris. Reuters

Rafael Nadal poses with the trophy after winning the French Open on Sunday. It was the Spaniard's 13th Roland Garros title. Reuters

Rafael Nadal's victory at the French Open took him level with longtime rival Roger Federer on 20 Grand Slam titles. Reuters

Rafael Nadal inspects the trophy.

Rafael Nadal poses with the French Open trophy on the Galeries Lafayette Rooftop, Paris, a day after crushing Novak Djokovic in the men's final. Reuters

Rafael Nadal of Spain poses with his trophy on the rooftop of the Galerie Lafayette department store. EPA

Rafael Nadal poses with his trophy. EPA

Spain's Rafael Nadal holds the Mousquetaires Cup (The Musketeers) during a photocall. AFP

This year's French Open will start a week later than scheduled on May 30 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) said.

The delay is set to impact both the ATP and WTA schedules, especially on the grasscourt season with tournaments scheduled to start on June 7 in s'Hertogenbosch (WTA and ATP) Stuttgart (ATP) and Nottingham (WTA).

FFT President Gilles Moreton said it had made the decision after consulting with public authorities, the governing bodies of international tennis, and its partners and broadcasters.

He said he hoped the delayed start would allow for spectators to attend the second Grand Slam of the year.

Last year only 1,000 were allowed at Roland Garros every day.

"It will give the health situation more time to improve and should optimise our chances of welcoming spectators at Roland-Garros ...," he added.

"For the fans, the players and the atmosphere, the presence of spectators is vital for our tournament, the spring’s most important international sporting event.”

The claycourt Grand Slam, which was postponed by four months last year and took place in front of limited crowds, will finish on June 13, two weeks before the expected start of Wimbledon.

The FFT had been heavily criticised for postponing last year's tournament until the end of September without consulting the elite men's and women's tours, who this time have been kept in the loop.

"Both the ATP and WTA are working in consultation with all parties impacted by the postponement to optimise the calendar for players, tournaments, and fans, in the lead up to and following Roland-Garros," the WTA and ATP said in a joint statement.

France last Saturday entered a third nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, with President Emmanuel Macron saying he was hoping to "re-open" the country around mid-May.

Wimbledon, the next Grand Slam tournament after the French Open, said in a statement that the decision had no impact on its planned start date of June 28.