The French Open Tennis tournament 2021 has been postponed by a week amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the organizers have informed on Thursday. The clay-court tournament was all set to begin on May 23 but now it will be kickstart from May 30. Earlier the final of the tourney was to be played on June 6 but now it has been deferred to 13 June.

The French Tennis Federation has revealed that the move has been taken so that there will be increased chances of the slam taking place in front of as many spectators as possible in a safe environment.

The decision has been made after a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in France. The French government has decided to close schools for three weeks. Furthermore, a month-long domestic travel ban and the closing of non-essential shops have been imposed.

“This postponement will give us a little more time to improve the health situation and should allow us to optimize our chances of welcoming spectators at Roland Garros,” said Gilles Moreton, the president of the French tennis federation. 

“Whether for the fans, the players or the atmosphere, crowd presence is essential to the tournament, the first international sporting event of the spring.”

This postponement will have an impact on the grass-court season. The Wimbledon is all set to run from June 28-July 11 and thus the players will only have two weeks period to gear up for the tournament.

Meanwhile, the French Open 2020 was postponed to September with a crowd capacity of 1,000 per day. Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek were crowned as the Male and Female singles champions respectively. Nadal will aim to clinch his 14th title at the Roland Garros and continue his supremacy at the slam.