Roland Garros, the French Grand Slam tournament, begins with Covid-19 in the shadows
He will not have the crowd numbers for 2019, but he is a balm after the big restrictions for 2020. Roland Garros started on Sunday and will play matches with up to 13,000 participants, with the usual talent, both at a men’s event, like in the women’s, where there are many candidates to lift the Cup. Knights.
After the pandemic forced a special edition celebration last September, Roland Garros is returning to a more popular date – May 30th to June 13th – despite a one-week delay in its inception, whose goal was to be able to get something good. Attendance of the audience in the stands.
In fact, 5,388 people will have access to the first game on Sunday, May 30th; The number will rise to 13,000, on June 9, as improvements in the incidence of Covid-19 and a greater number of vaccines are expected.
In this context, 120,000 people are expected to arrive during the tournament, a number much higher than the previous figure, when 15,000 people entered, but also significantly lower than the 520,000 prior to the pandemic. To arrive, attendees must have a negative 48-hour test, vaccination certificate, or evidence of overcoming disease.
“Nevertheless, we are pleased to have a large presence in spite of everything,” said Amelie Odia Castera, the new director general of the French Tennis Federation.
In addition, the organization indicated that Roland Garros is the only major tournament that will face two versions in the epidemic, due to good health indicators in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, which allow the tournaments, practically naturally. .
Candidates will be present in the men’s and women’s competitions
Fans will be able to see the world’s best players in the clay court tournament. Among the favorites for the men’s team, there is of course the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, a 13-time tournament winner who will become the player with the biggest titles in the tournament with his new dedication to the Paris clay. The history of this sport, but also the world number one, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer of Switzerland, tied with Nadal in the number of championships (20), after 15 months of absence due to two knee surgeries.
The three will be in the same part of the schedule, so they won’t see each other in the final match. Between them, they add 59 Grand Slam titles, while in the other crosses, where competitors go out to the final, they only add 1 Grand Slam.
In the women’s championship, the fight is also open, and since 2007 no player has won the tournament twice in a row.
The two finalists, however, will be the last two winners, the Polish Ige Swiatik and Australian Ashley Party, ranked # 1 in the world.
Other names that could win the title are Japanese, Naomi Osaka, Belarusian, Arena Sabalenka, or legendary American player, Serena Williams, who is still pursuing an elusive 24 title that would tie her to the highest record kept by another legend, Margaret’s Court Australian.
The restrictions of the epidemic remain
Just as other leagues like the Australian Open and the US have tried, Roland Garros is betting on the night games. They will be 9:00 pm local time, behind closed doors, as the curfew began at that time in France.
Only, starting with the men’s and women’s quarter-finals, on June 9, it will be open to the public, and the time for those special matches will be offered until 8:00 pm, with the curfew extending until 8:00 pm. 23.00. 5,000 people will be able to access it.
The tournament will have two official hotels, while players will only have access to the stadium on match day and will earn two credits. Tennis players will be under a bubble to avoid infection. They’ll have a PCR every four days and they’ll have one hour a day to run or get fresh air.
The economic crisis struck the championship
The economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 virus has caused havoc in Roland Garros in 2020, revenues have already declined by 50%, so broadcast rights have become one of the main sources of income, about 60% of the budget.
The players will receive 35 million euros distributed, which is the same number in 2020, however, less than 42 million distributed in 2019.
The event will be broadcast in 190 countries around the world and will continue to grow on social networks. She currently has 10 million followers: 25% in China, but with a large presence in India, France, the United States and Brazil.
France 24 with EFE
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