Work on French Open Site Continues While Maintaining Social Distancing

With the French Open scheduled for now in September, there is some work continuing on the renovation of the Roland Garros site even as France continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.

According to L'Equipe , the renovation of the main stadium was completed in February, but there are still some repairs needed on the site.

Jean-François Vilott, the Director general of FFT, reveals, "The work was never interrupted. Since the pandemic spread and social isolation started, we asked the contracted companies to implement protective measures and remove workers at greatest risk".

For the placement of the retractable roof over the Philippe Chatrier stadium, the complex had to undergo a huge renovation, which included replacing some blocks and redesigning some aspects of the administrative building.

Villot continued, "The work team has been significantly reduced and only between 30 and 50 people are taking care of the renovations at the moment. Everyone is wearing masks and maintaining the maximum protection needed."

Meanwhile, the FFT Training Center, which operates within the complex, has also been made available to health authorities in Paris and is being used to receive patients with coronavirus. The Federation's own doctors are also working there.

The French Open was scheduled to be held in May this year but was cancelled due to the global health crisis.

The French Tennis Federation have moved their event to September in a move that was criticized by the players and other tennis bodies since they did not consult the players or the other bodies such as the ATP, the WTA or the ITF while making their decision.

The French Open is currently scheduled to be held one week after the end of the US Open.

As of now, all tennis tournaments till the 13th of July have been suspended and the tennis bodies will decide in the coming weeks about whether they will be able to play tournaments in the United States after that period.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2XBzhPK