Staff Reporter.
After switching to an unfamiliar October slot in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the French Open returns to the late Parisian spring this year.
Little was familiar about the tournament last year – other than Rafael Nadal winning the men’s singles for a record-extending 13th time.
The Spaniard is the favourite to defend his crown once again when the tournament begins on Sunday, although Serbia’s world number one Novak Djokovic will expect to provide the toughest challenge at Roland Garros.
Nadal is aiming to win a record 21st men’s major title and move clear of Switzerland’s Roger Federer, who returns after missing last year’s tournament through injury.
Polish teenager Iga Swiatek is bidding to become the first player to successfully defend a Grand Slam women’s title since Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2016, but faces competition from Ashleigh Barty – the world number one and 2019 Roland Garros champion – who returns to the Paris clay following a 13-month hiatus during the pandemic.
With France still under coronavirus restrictions, the tournament will again be played in front of a limited number of fans.
Last year 1,000 fans were allowed daily and this year’s tournament was pushed back a week to enable spectators to attend.
From 30 May to 8 June, there will be 5,388 spectators allowed on site each day, split across six different zones.
The country is lifting some restrictions on 9 June, meaning Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen will be able to host 5,000 people for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. The number of fans on the whole site will rise to 13,146.
Only visitors with a ‘health passport’ – proof of a recent negative test, a vaccine certificate or proof of antibodies – will be allowed to enter.
In a major break with tradition, night sessions are being introduced on Court Philippe Chatrier for the first time, leaving Wimbledon as the only Grand Slam without them.
But, with France’s curfew set to remain at 21:00 local time (20:00 BST) until 8 June, nine of the 10 scheduled night sessions will be closed to spectators.
When the country lifts restrictions on 9 June and pushes back the curfew to 23:00 local time (22:00 BST), up to 5,000 fans will be able to watch the first men’s quarter-final under the floodlights.