This archive report was first published on 10 May 2020.
French tennis chief Bernard Guidicelli has been forced to consider staging the 2020 Roland Garros tournament behind closed doors due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Guidicelli, who has been at the helm of the French Tennis Federation (FFT) since 2014, made the admission on Sunday, May 10, 2020, as the country continues to grapple with the spread of the virus.
With the tournament originally scheduled to take place from May 24 to June 7, Guidicelli has pushed it back by four months to September 20-October 4, citing the need to prioritize the health and safety of players, officials, and spectators.
However, with the death toll from the coronavirus in France standing at 26,310 by Saturday night, Guidicelli has not ruled out the possibility of staging the tournament behind closed doors, which would allow the business model to continue, including television rights, which account for more than a third of the tournament's revenues.
Guidicelli has been in regular discussions with top tennis officials, including Andrea Gaudenzi, president of the ATP, Steve Simon, president of the WTA, and David Haggerty, head of the ITF, to determine the best course of action for the tournament.
With Wimbledon already cancelled for the first time since the Second World War and the US Open in question, Guidicelli is adamant that the FFT made the right decision in pushing back the tournament, citing the need to protect the players and the ecosystem that relies on the tournament for revenue.
