The French Open tennis tournament has been postponed until September due to the coronavirus pandemic, the French Tennis Federation announced on Monday.
"The current confinement measures have made it impossible for us to continue with the dates originally planned," the organization said in a statement. "This decision was made in the interest of both the community of professional tennis players, whose 2020 season has already been compromised, and of the many fans of tennis and Roland-Garros."
The tournament, which is the the second grand slam on the annual tennis calendar after the Australian Open, was originally set for May 24. The new targeted start date is September 20 and would run through October 4.
The new dates could be problematic. ATP and WTA events were previously scheduled for those weeks, and the US Open wraps up only two weeks prior.
The postponement of the French Open marks the first time a grand slam has been rescheduled or cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Wimbledon, set to begin in London at the end of June, is the next grand slam on the calendar. No announcements had been made about its status as of Tuesday.
Last week, the ATP announced the suspension of the next six weeks of tournaments.