The revised attendance limit will cause the FTF to lose tens of millions more Euros than anticipatedGETTY IMAGES
The French Tennis Federation in July announced that it planned to hold the French Open in the fall and was "banking on 20,000 spectators a day attending," but before the tournament began, the "ceiling was set at 1,000 spectators," according to Adam Sage of the LONDON TIMES. The cut "will be a huge hole in the federation’s budget." Officials "anticipated a shortfall in ticket sales and merchandising receipts" of $152M (all figures U.S.) when the ceiling was fixed at 11,500 spectators a day. They have "yet to work out the extent of the losses but say it will be tens of millions of euros higher than the original estimate." The federation also "shut all but two of its 20 boutiques at Roland Garros, which has caused another headache." Staff "put in orders for the merchandise that would go on sale at this year’s tournament back in the summer of 2019 when no one had heard of Covid-19." They now are "wondering what they are going to do with the stock they will find on their hands, such the [$350] tennis rackets with 'Roland Garros 2020' logos on them." Sage writes amid such misfortune, it was "tempting to think that Wimbledon’s decision to scrap this year’s tournament had been the right one." But he notes it was "easier for Wimbledon to take that decision since it had cancellation insurance that covered pandemics." The French federation had "no such policy" (LONDON TIMES, 9/28). With the crowd down to just 1,000 a day, Tennis Channel’s Nicolas Pereira asked, "What is the point of having the risk? I know from what I’ve heard that the players are not very happy” (“Tennis Channel Live at Roland Garros,” Tennis Channel, 9/25).
COMPLICATING MATTERS: In N.Y., Clarey & Crouse write the Open began yesterday amid a "persistent drizzle and chilly winds." Though temperatures were "genuinely balmy last week in Paris, they were more suited to the deck of a North Atlantic fishing trawler on opening day." Tights and long sleeves were "de rigueur and some stars opted for even sturdier gear." Rain and temperatures in the 50s and low 60s are "forecast throughout the tournament." And though the French Open "finally has a new retractable roof" in its main Philippe-Chatrier court, it is the "only covered court, and there are more than 200 matches scheduled during the first week." Clarey & Crouse ask, "Was Roland Garros in fall a bad idea? Would the organizers have been wiser to cancel their Grand Slam tournament, as Wimbledon did this year?" World No. 10 Victoria Azarenka: "It's a complicated question, it really is" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/28). Tennis Channel’s Chanda Rubin said, “It feels cold. I’m used to warmth. I’m used to humidity, and Paris in the summer is a little closer to that than right now.” Tennis Channel’s Paul Annacone added, “It’s chilly, but it’s been an eerie year for everybody" (“Tennis Channel Live at Roland Garros,” Tennis Channel, 9/26).
