France’s Sports Minister gives an update on spectators in French Open

 

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a deep impact on the sports world. A lot of major sporting events were cancelled in 2020 and mostly were played behind closed doors. Similarly the pandemic has also made it difficult to organise Tennis with jam packed crowds.

Meanwhile, the Australian government was able to host the Australian Open with some crowd as the situation was under control.

On the other hand, it was earlier confirmed that French Open will be postponed by a week so that the organisers can be well prepared amid the coronavirus crisis and they wanted maximum spectators in the court.

France Sports Minister Jean Michel Blanque has given a crucial update regarding the same for the upcoming French Open.

According to Sports minister Jean-Michel Blanque, every court in Roland Garros will be allowed to be 35% full with a limit of 1000 spectators at the start of the French Open. The limit will be raised to 65% – max. 5000 fans per court – on the 9th of June (Wednesday 2nd week). Blanque said the same while talking to France 3 TV.

It is a huge boost for the players as they will be able to play in front of the crowd in testing times like these. French Open will begin from 30th May and the players will look to bring their best to the table.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal, who won the title on 13 occasions, will be a huge favourite. The World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and also players like Andrey Rublev, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev will be a threat for Nadal.

If Nadal manages to win his 14th Roland Garros title, he will have 21 slam titles and he will leapfrog Roger Federer’s tally.