‘Treacherous and selfish!’ – ATP tournament director blasts French Open coronavirus decision

Roland Garros continues to come under heavy attack from all quarters following their decision to reschedule to September due to the coronavirus outbreak, with one tournament director branding them ‘treacherous’.

Organisers of the French Open opted to reschedule rather than cancel the 2020 tournament as the coronavirus outbreak grips the world, but the manner in which they have done it has caused controversy.

The new dates directly conflict with the Laver Cup, and fall just one week after the conclusion of the US Open, leaving both understandably angry.

Now, smaller tournaments have started to respond too, with Raul Zurutuza, chief of the Acapulco Open, taking to Twitter to share his opinion.

“The decision of Roland Garros to move the tournament to September is, from my point of view, treacherous and selfish,” he said.

“It only shows the disdain they have towards the other Tournaments on the Tour and apparently also the players, because they did not consult them.”

La decisión de @rolandgarros de mover el torneo a Septiembre, es, desde mi punto de vista, alevosa y egoísta y solo demuestra el desdén que tienen hacia los demás Torneos del Tour y por lo visto también a los jugadores, porque a ellos no los consultaron. pic.twitter.com/xbIvb1RSUP

— Raul Zurutuza (@raul_zurutuza) March 17, 2020

Those criticisms have also been echoed by Canadian Vasek Pospisil, a vocal member of the ATP Player Council and an advocate for a players’ union, who tweeted: “This is madness.

“Major announcement by Roland Garros changing the dates to one week after the US Open.

“No communication with the players or the ATP… we have ZERO say in this sport. It’s time. #UniteThePlayers”

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