Federer, Nadal In Conflict With French Open’s ‘Rogue’ Decision Says Former Star

The French Open made a controversial decision to move the annual clay-court major to September as a response to the coronavirus threat. The COVID-19 has caused the world to stop with the rate it has infected the lives of thousands of people across multiple countries.

Major events are being canceled and people are being affected by the virus. In tennis, the first tournament that was called off was the Indian Wells Masters. It was from there that several other tennis events followed suit – including the clay-court Masters.

“We have made a difficult yet brave decision in this unprecedented situation, which has evolved greatly since last weekend. We are acting responsibly, and must work together in the fight to ensure everybody’s health and safety,” said Bernard Giudicelli, President of the Federation Francaise de Tennis (FFT).

While they had the best interests of the players, the tennis community had some concerns with the decision. Former ATP Tour Star Sam Groth was one of these players who were not too happy with how the schedule was managed. Groth shared that the FFT was too quick with their decision. "They were trying to be proactive but they have just gone rogue," Groth told Channel 9 per Tennis World USA. “Basically, no consultation with the players, with the tours men's or women's, with the other Grand Slams.”

The September schedule of the French Open means that the major is only one week apart from the US Open. That would entail the lack of time for players on tour to recover and strategize properly given the games and travel have taken on their body.

In addition to this, it is also in conflict with the Laver Cup – the recently accredited ATP tournament. The Laver Cup is co-founded by Roger Federer and puts him in a dilemma to either skip a Grand Slam or participate in the event he helped create.

While Rafael Nadal has supported the decision of the FFT, he is also in conflict with the schedule as the 12-time French Open winner has been a consistent player contracted in the Laver Cup.