Coronavirus outbreak: French Open ticket holders to receive refund
What's the story
French Tennis Federation, on Thursday, announced that all ticket holders of the French Open will be refunded due to coronavirus pandemic. The announcement came after postponement of Roland Garros from the month of May to September. Earlier, the premier tennis Grand Slam Wimbledon was called-off, owing to rising number of COVID-19 cases. The Championships will now be staged in 2021. Here is more.
French Open
Roland Garros was postponed from May to September
The Roland Garros, which was scheduled to run from May 24 to June 7, has been deferred until September. "We have chosen to postpone Roland Garros until the end of September. We are currently working with the authorities to jointly define the appropriate," the message read. It added, "The French Tennis Federation has decided to cancel and refund all tickets already purchased."
Quote
Federation sent a message to people who bought tickets
"The current health situation linked to Covid-19 and the extent of this pandemic are causing uncertainty for all events bringing together the public, all over the world," the federation stated in a message sent to all the ticket holders.
Other tournaments
Tennis calendar has been suspended until July
The Wimbledon 2020 was canceled for the first time since World War II, by the authorities, in April. There is a possibility that Australian Open 2021 could also face cancelation threat if the pandemic continues to cause disruption. Meanwhile, the United States Tennis Association is yet to decide to fate of US Open, which is set to begin August.
Information
ITF had issued set of guidelines
Previously, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) had issued a new set of guidelines for local and national-level competitions amid the outburst. The players will follow these guidelines once the training resumes, in order to contain the spread of coronavirus.