Roland Garros could be cancelled as new covid surge rocks France

The French Open could be cancelled if strict lockdown measures in France remain in place by the start of the tournament, the president of the French Tennis Federation has warned.

French president Emmanuel Macron announced a third national lockdown this week in response to a surge of Covid-19 cases in the country.

Te lockdown is to last four weeks as Paris faces the worst of the “third wave” of the pandemic.

French Tennis association president Gilles Moretton said he “dare not imagine” the cancellation of Rolland Garros, but he admitted that it would be an option if the situation in France had not improved ahead of the scheduled start date of May 24.

“At the moment, we are on track, the tournament is on the scheduled dates,” Moretton said.

“But if we are told to lockdown for two months, we will have to take the necessary measures, the worst being the outright cancellation, but I dare not imagine that.”

The tournament was moved from its usual May-June slot last year to September because of the pandemic.

“We are studying a lot of options for Roland Garros 2021,” Moretton added.

“There is a total range, or almost total because I dare not imagine a 100 per cent crowd level.

“But that can start from behind closed doors to a level that will not be 100 per cent. All the options with us are ready.

“We meet all the players regularly and we will have to wait to see how things turn out.”