For the second consecutive week, the French Open had its daily capacity dropped because of the coronavirus pandemic that's worsening throughout the country.
Two days before the scheduled start of the tournament's main draw, an order from Prime Minister Jean Castex lowered the Roland-Garros site capacity from 5,000 to 1,000. In an official statement, the French Tennis Federation declared that ticket holders still willing to attend the tournament will be contacted for a special draw.
Those not selected will have their tickets canceled and receive full reimbursements.
As noted by the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), tournament organizers had hoped to welcome 11,500 spectators per day weeks ago but then decreased that to 5,000 fans last Friday. With virus cases rising, government officials imposed strict guidelines for crowd sizes in all of Paris on Thursday.
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