French Open postponement a possibility amidst COVID-19 lockdown: Sports Minister
French Open men singles' winner
France's Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu on Sunday said that this year's French Open could get postponed amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
The European country has entered a third nationwide lockdown on Saturday to contain the surge in coronavirus, however, most of the sporting events in the country will be unaffected.
"We are in discussion with them (the French Tennis Federation, which organises the event) to see if we should change the date to coincide with a possible resumption of all sports and major events," Maracineanu told France Info radio late on Saturday.
"Today, although high-level sport has been preserved, we try to limit the risks of clusters, of spreading the virus within professional sports."
The French Grand Slam, last year, postponed by four months and took place in front of limited crowds, is due to start this year on May 23.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said that he was expecting to re-open the country in mid-May.
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The director-general of the French Tennis Federation, Gilles Moreton, said earlier this week that he could not imagine the Grand Slam tournament being cancelled.
(Inputs from Reuters)