PARIS: French Tennis Federation (FFT) has announced to start professional tournaments in July including a mini-tour on the Riviera despite coronavirus lockdown.
The idea of a small tour in the south has been pushed for a while by former French professional Thierry Ascione and it will be “created and organized” by the French Tennis Federation (FFT) as the “Challenge Elite FFT”.
According to the announcement, it will be made up of three tournaments with events in Nice (July 6-11), Cannes (July 13-18), and Villeneuve-Loubet (July 20-25).
The events will be open to 24 men and 12 women. Most of the places will be reserved for players whose rankings would, at the least, permit them to enter the qualifying rounds of Grand Slam events.
The surface, hard or clay, “will be determined according to whether or not the American tour is organized,” said the FFT. The statement further said the semi-finals and final will be broadcast on the FFT’s web channel.
World tennis governing bodies are due to announce soon whether or not the North American part of the season will be played. The US Open is still scheduled to run from August 24 to September 13 but several leading players have expressed reservations.
The lower level professional events in the French CNGT circuit will also resume in July at about 30 clubs. The calendar “is currently being drawn up,” the FFT said.
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