Monday’s play at the French Open has been cancelled due to poor weather conditions hampering the tournament.
Heavy rain and strong winds have resulted in the suspension of the entire day’s play for the first time since May 30th 2000. World No.1 players Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams will have to wait until Tuesday to continue their French Open campaigns.
Organisers originally hoped to have some play during the early afternoon before a decision was made to cancel proceedings, three hours after play was scheduled to start.
The poor weather has disrupted play throughout the first week of the tournament, leading to growing questions about why there is yet to be a roof placed on the stadium court. The French Open is the only grand slam tournament that doesn’t have a roof on their premier court. According to tournament director, Guy Forget, Roland Garros will not see a roof until 2020 at the earliest.
“Welcome to France. You know the circumstances as well as I do. The red tape in France. It’s a process,” Forget told a news conference last Monday about the proposed roof.
“We play by the rules. We asked for planning permission a long time ago. All we can do is monitor the situation and follow the due process.”
Tuesday’s chaotic order of play is yet to be released. The weather forecast is significantly better than Monday, however, rain is likely to disrupt play in the morning.
