Le Parisien reports that Roland Garros will soon announce a move to a later time slot. Roland-Garros will, according to reports by Sandrine Lefèvre of Le Parisien, be postponed for another week, to be held from September 27 to October 11, 2020.

Tennis : Roland-Garros décalé au 27 septembre https://t.co/4tzVKSfSPM

— Le Parisien – Sports (@LeParisienSport) April 23, 2020

An official report from Roland Garros or the FFT has yet to come.

The tournament originally sent shockwaves across the tennis establishment when it rescheduled from Late May to the September 20 – October 4 time slot in mid-March. The FFT has reportedly gone back to the table and worked with the WTA and ATP Tours on shifting the date back by a week in order to give the players another week of rest after the US Open.

The new date could hypothetically add room for several clay court events in Europe before Roland Garros begins, but many remain skeptical that the tournament will be played at all due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

France, Italy and Spain have each suffered over 20,000 deaths due the pandemic but the numbers are finally starting to level off. Still, that doesn’t change the grim realities of the virus, which are that there is no vaccine and many fear a second wave as temperatures start to cool down in the northern hemisphere in the autumn.

The US Open and the tennis tours are currently waiting to make an announcement on the North American hardcourt season this summer. Currently all tennis at the professional level is cancelled until at least July 13.

Former world No. 1 doubts tennis will resume by September.
Andy Murray will be ready to play Roland Garros in September—he just doesn't envision tennis resuming by then.

The former world No. 1, who has been sidelined since last November recovering from a bone bruise in his pelvis, told CNN he will be fit for the French Open, but doubts the clay-court major will be contested due to the coronavirus crisis.

Federer: Merge ATP and WTA

Roland Garros, originally scheduled for May, made the unilateral decision to move to September 20th—one week after the US Open ends. Murray says tennis' global nature will make it one of the last sports to return.

“I would definitely play on the clay if it goes ahead. I’m a bit skeptical whether it will,” Murray told CNN. “I would imagine tennis would be one of the last sports to get back to normality because you’ve obviously got players and coaches and teams coming from all over the world into one area. I would be surprised if they were back playing sport by September-time."

Murray's former coach, Hall of Famer Amelie Mauresmo, has said tennis cannot safely resume into there is a vaccine for COVID-19. Murray says travel bans currently in place in some countries would have to be diminished or removed in order for tennis to resume.

“You have to feel like the whole world is working normally again and travelling normally before tennis would go back, especially the major competitions," Murray told CNN. “If you took the French Open, let's say things in Europe have improved, but there are certain countries that might still have issues.

“If you then have a tournament where people or players from a certain continent or countries are not allowed to come in to compete. I think the tournament loses.”

The three-time Grand Slam champion made an inspired return to tournament tennis last season that was eventually cut short by the pelvis injury, which he suffered in Madrid at the Davis Cup. At the time it was not considered to be a serious setback, but it has proved difficult for the father of two. Many thought Murray had cleared his biggest hurdle after he returned from his second hip surgery in the summer of 2019 and later claimed an emotional title at Antwerp in October.

 

 

 

 

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When your daughters want to play dress up and say “daddy put on your skirt!”. I tried to explain it was a kilt not a skirt but they assured me it was definitely a skirt😂 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. #kids #meninkilts #skirts

A post shared by Andy Murray (@andymurray) on

Apr 19, 2020 at 8:55am PDT

The only man to successfully defend the Olympic gold medal in singles, Murray said he was showing symptoms of coronavirus infection last month, but self-isolated and was never actually tested for COVID-19.

“I was a little bit sick for two or three days about four weeks ago,” Murray said. “So actually, before the beginning of when the quarantine started, I was sort of isolating for probably four or five days before that.

“Most people I've spoken to have had some sort of symptoms and felt a little bit sick, but it's quite difficult to know whether you have actually had the virus or not. And obviously, the test should be saved for people that are in severe situations and the frontline NHS workers in this country."

Photo credit: Mike Frey/Rolex Shanghai Masters Facebook

USTA issues a list of tips for playing safely during COVID-19 pandemic.
As the weather warms and states begin to slowly open for business, recreational players are poised to hit the courts.

How do we safely play tennis amid the coronavirus crisis that has claimed the lives of more than 46,000 Americans?

Federer: Merge ATP & WTA

The USTA today issued a list of tips for playing safely during COVID-19 pandemic.

First and foremost, make sure you live in a community where stay-at-home or shelter-in-place restrictions have been modified or listed.

The White House issued guidelines for Opening Up America Again, a three-phased approach it says is based on the advice of health care experts. Read that plan here.

Tennis can be great exercise and a welcome source of stress-relief during this coronavirus shutdown. The fact that it's a non-contact sport played on a 78-foot long court makes tennis an ideal social-distancing sport.

If you're concerned about contracting the virus through touching a tennis ball, the USTA says that's unlikely but urges precautions while playing.

"Although there is no specific evidence that tennis balls can spread COVID-19, we know that contamination by respiratory droplets from an infected person can potentially survive on hard surfaces up to three days," the USTA said in a statement. "If you choose to play tennis, be sure to practice these safety tips and recommendations."

• Make sure that your state and region allow tennis play, satisfy the Federal Government’s gating criteria and have entered Phase One of the Phased Comeback.

• States and regions with no evidence of a rebound and that satisfy the gating criteria a second time may proceed to Phase Two of the Phased Comeback, in which all individuals, when in public recreation areas, should maximize physical distance from others.

• Be aware that although restrictions are eased when your state and region move from Phase One to Phase Two or Phase Three of the Phased Comeback, safety precautions must remain in place until there is a universal vaccine or effective treatment for the coronavirus.

• The USTA Medical Advisory Group highly recommends competitive players ease their way back into play prior to competition. Given the layoff from competing, players will be more susceptible to under-training, over-use and other injuries. The USTA strongly recommends at least three weeks of on court and off court conditioning before competition begins.

• Arrange to play only with family members or others who live in your household or with individuals who are considered to be low risk.

• Do not play if any of you:

Are exhibiting any symptoms of the coronavirus: mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough and difficulty breathing, or other symptoms identified by the CDC.

Have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days.

Are a vulnerable individual and your state and region is in Phase One or Phase Two.  A vulnerable individual is an elderly individual and/or an individual with serious underlying health conditions, including high blood pressure, chronic lung disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma and those whose immune system is compromised such as by chemotherapy for cancer and other conditions requiring such therapy. 

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve