Grand slam event had been due to start on 24 May in ParisNew Roland Garros dates clash with Laver CupCoronavirus – latest updates | All our coronavirus coverageA leftfield decision by the Fédération Française de
Tennis on Tuesday to move the
French Open from May to September and hopefully away from the health threat of Covid-19 risks a boycott by the 12-times champion, Rafael Nadal. It has also created confusion and anger across the game.
Without proper consultation with other stakeholders in the game, the FFT announced that what is normally the season’s second grand slam tournament and was scheduled to run from 24 May to 7 June – less than a month after the conclusion of the blackout introduced by the ATP last week – would now become the fourth and final major, starting on 20 September.