| 2020 French Open | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 27 September – 11 October 2020 | |||
| Edition | 119 | |||
| Category | Grand Slam | |||
| Draw | 128 singles players, 64 doubles pairs | |||
| Prize money | €38,000,000 | |||
| Surface | Clay | |||
| Location | Paris (XVIe), France | |||
| Venue | Roland Garros Stadium | |||
| Champions | ||||
| Men's singles | ||||
 Rafael Nadal | ||||
| Women's singles | ||||
 Iga Świątek | ||||
| Men's doubles | ||||
 Kevin Krawietz /Andreas Mies | ||||
| Women's doubles | ||||
 Tímea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic | ||||
| Wheelchair men's singles | ||||
 Alfie Hewett | ||||
| Wheelchair women's singles | ||||
 Yui Kamiji | ||||
| Wheelchair quad singles | ||||
 Dylan Alcott | ||||
| Wheelchair men's doubles | ||||
| Alfie Hewett /Gordon Reid | ||||
| Wheelchair women's doubles | ||||
 Diede de Groot /Aniek van Koot | ||||
| Wheelchair quad doubles | ||||
Sam Schröder / David Wagner | ||||
| Boys' singles | ||||
 Dominic Stricker | ||||
| Girls' singles | ||||
| Elsa Jacquemot | ||||
| Boys' doubles | ||||
 Flavio Cobolli /Dominic Stricker | ||||
| Girls' doubles | ||||
| Eleonora Alvisi /Lisa Pigato | ||||
| ||||
The2020 French Open was amajor tennis tournament played on outdoorclay courts. It was held at theStade Roland Garros in Paris, France. Originally scheduled for 24 May to 7 June, owing to theCOVID-19 pandemic, it was first moved to 20 September to 4 October 2020, then later moved back a week further to 27 September to 11 October 2020. Qualifying matches, comprising singles and doubles play, began 21 September. Junior and wheelchair tournaments were also scheduled.Rafael Nadal was the twelve-time and three-time-defending champion in men's singles;Ashleigh Barty was the defending champion in women's singles but chose not to defend her title following concerns over the pandemic.[1]
It was the 119th edition of theFrench Open and the last Grand Slam event of 2020. The main singles draws included 16 qualifiers for men and 12 for women out of 128 players in each draw.
It was also the only Grand Slam tournament to retain theadvantage set in the final set of a match, as theAustralian Open andWimbledon recently switched to tiebreaks.[2][3]
The men's singles title was won for the 13th time byRafael Nadal, who won his 20th Grand Slam title, defeatingNovak Djokovic in straight sets in the final. The women's singles title was won byIga Świątek, who won her maiden WTA singles title, defeatingSofia Kenin in straight sets in the final. This was the first time in the Open Era that neither the men's nor women's singles championsdropped a set throughout the entire tournament. With his victory, Nadal equalledRoger Federer's all-time record of 20Grand Slam titles. Świątek became the first player from Poland, male or female, and the first player born in the 21st century, male or female, to win a Grand Slam singles title.
The 2020 French Open was the 124th edition of the French Open and was held atStade Roland Garros in Paris. It was also the first year in which there was a retractable roof on the French tennis courts, after construction was completed onCourt Philippe-Chatrier in late 2019, with plans in place to also have a roof on Court Suzanne-Lenglen by 2023.[4] Additionally, it was also the first year in which evening tennis was possible, as floodlights were installed for the twelve courts. The sunset in Paris in September and October 2020 was at approximately before 8:00 pm CEST rather than the normal May to June schedule, which would be around after 9:30 pm CEST. Evening matches did not fully conduct until the2021 tournament. Due to weather delays,Iga Świątek andMartina Trevisan played the first ever women's match to begin in the evening in French Open history during their quarterfinal match.[5] A few hours later,Rafael Nadal andJannik Sinner's quarterfinal became the first ever men's match to start in the evening in French Open history. Their match, which was played under very cold and windy conditions, started after 10:00 pm and finished at 1:26 am. This was the first ever French Open match to finish after midnight.[6][7]
The tournament was run by theInternational Tennis Federation (ITF) and was part of the2020 ATP Tour and the2020 WTA Tour calendars under the Grand Slam category. The tournament consisted of both men's and women's singles and doubles draws.[8]
There was a singles and doubles events for both boys and girls (players under 18), which was part of the Grade A category of tournaments,[9] and singles and doubles events for men's and women'swheelchair tennis players under the Grand Slam category.[10] The tournament was played on clay courts and took place over a series of 23 courts, including the three main showcourts, Court Philippe Chatrier, Court Suzanne Lenglen and Court Simonne Mathieu.[8][11]
Normally, this event is held on the fourth Sunday of May and ending in early June and is the secondGrand Slam of the year on the peak of the springclay court season. Because of the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic, on 17 March,French Tennis Federation announced the tournament had been postponed and dates were moved first to 20 September to 4 October 2020 (the dates were initially scheduled for the annual Asian Hard Court swing which would be eventually cancelled on 24 July), and then moved a week further to 27 September to 11 October 2020, just two weeks after the2020 US Open and the cancellation of the2020 Wimbledon Championships. For the first time since the1947 French Championships, this event was not held on the traditional May–June schedule and it was the first time since the introduction of theOpen Era that a major tournament was postponed rather than cancelled. On 13 April 2020, theFrench Government extended a ban on mass gatherings until July 2020 in a bid to control the spread of the virus.[12]
TheLaver Cup was scheduled from 24 to 27 September, conflicting with the initial new date for the French Open (20 September to 4 October), before being postponed to 2021.[13]
On 7 September, it was announced the three main courts would have a maximum capacity of 11,500 spectators during the 15-day tournament, with 5,000 each in Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen, and 1,500 in Court Simonne Mathieu. Matches on other courts would take placewithout spectators including the qualifying events. These guidelines followed from official health and safety protocols includingsocial distancing regulations from the regional government. According to the tournament directorGuy Forget, players and personnel would haveto be tested for the virus upon arrival in Paris to confirm a negative test result and a second test 72 hours later. Players would then have to stay at two hotels stipulated by organizers once they get tested. On 17 September, the spectator capacity for each match was reduced to 5,000 in all of the three main courts owing to an ongoing surge in the number of coronavirus cases in France, and couple of days later, the capacity was reduced once again to 1,000 starting on the eve of the main tournament.[14][15][16]
The mixed doubles event did not take place this year and this was the second consecutive Grand Slam not holding the event after the US Open.[17][18]
Rafael Nadal def.
Novak Djokovic, 6–0, 6–2, 7–5The men's singles event began on 27 September with the first of seven total rounds. 32 players were seeded, while the other 96 players were not.[21] Of those seeded players, eleven were defeated in the first round, notably No. 4Daniil Medvedev,[22] No. 8Gaël Monfils,[23] and No. 11David Goffin.[24] As the French Open was then the only remaining Grand Slam tournament that used theadvantage set, there existed the possibility of significantly longer final sets, as seen in the first round match betweenLorenzo Giustino andCorentin Moutet. The match was won after just over six hours by the former, 0–6, 7–6 (7), 7–6 (3), 2–6, 18–16, and was the second-longest match in French Open history.[25]Denis Shapovalov,John Isner, andDušan Lajović were the highest of the five seeded players to exit in the second round,[26][27] and a further nine seeded players were defeated in the third and fourth rounds. Of the eight players that qualified for the finals, seven were seeded, withJannik Sinner (who lost only one set in the first four rounds combined) the lone exception.[28]
In the quarterfinals, No. 1Novak Djokovic defeated No. 17Pablo Carreño Busta (Djokovic's loss in the first set was his first dropped set of the tournament),[29] No. 5Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated No. 13Andrey Rublev,[30] No. 12Diego Schwartzman upset No. 3Dominic Thiem,[31] and No. 2Rafael Nadal ended the upset bid of Jannik Sinner.[32] The two semifinal matches told very different tales; Nadal dominated Schwartzman, beating him in straight sets,[33] while Djokovic opened against Tsitsipas by winning the first two sets, but dropped the next two before winning the final set 6–1 to take the match.[34] In the championship, Nadal opened dominantly with a first-setbagel and a 6–2 performance in the second set, and finished with a 7–5 final set to win the title. This marked Nadal's fourth consecutive and 13th overall French Open title and his 20th overall Grand Slam singles title, equalingRoger Federer's all-time record.[35] Furthermore, Nadal did not lose a single set throughout the entire tournament.
Iga Świątek def.Sofia Kenin, 6–4, 6–1The women's singles event began on 27 September with the first of seven total rounds. 32 players were seeded, while the other 96 players were not.[21] Twelve seeded players lost in the first round, notably No. 9Johanna Konta,[36] No. 12Madison Keys,[37] and No. 15Markéta Vondroušová,[38] and a further seven fell in the second round, among them No. 2Karolína Plíšková,[39] No. 10Victoria Azarenka,[40] and No. 14Elena Rybakina.[41] Sixth-seededSerena Williams withdrew prior to her second round match (awarded onwalkover toTsvetana Pironkova) because of anachilles injury.[42] Ten seeded players lost in the third and fourth round combined, including top seedSimona Halep.[43]
Only three seeded players qualified for the finals. In the quarterfinals, three matches were decided in straight sets: No. 3Elina Svitolina was upset byNadia Podoroska,[44]Iga Świątek defeatedMartina Trevisan,[45] and No. 7Petra Kvitová beatLaura Siegemund.[46] No. 4Sofia Kenin's defeat ofDanielle Collins was the only to go to a third set.[47] In the semifinals, Świątek defeated Podoroska and Kenin beat Kvitová, both in straight sets.[48][49] This set up a final between Świątek and Kenin, which was won easily by Świątek, 6–4, 6–1.[50] This was Świątek's first WTA singles title, as she became first Polish player, male or female, to win a Grand Slam singles title. Świątek did not drop a set throughout the entire tournament, did not lose more than 4 games per set, and did not lose more than 5 games in any match.[51]
Kevin Krawietz /Andreas Mies def.
Mate Pavić /
Bruno Soares, 6–3, 7–5The men's doubles event began on 29 September with the first of six total rounds. 16 pairs were seeded, while the other 48 players were not.[21] In the first round, only one seeded pair lost: tenth-seededRaven Klaasen andOliver Marach.[52] In addition, 12th-seededJean-Julien Rojer andHoria Tecău advanced after playing just one set afterCristian Garín andPedro Martínez retired. The second round saw the elimination of just three more seeded pairs, No. 4Łukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo,[53] No. 11John Peers/Michael Venus,[54] and No. 16Austin Krajicek/Franko Škugor.[55] However, in the third round, six of the remaining twelve seeded pairs lost, notably second-seedMarcel Granollers andHoracio Zeballos,[56] fifth-seedIvan Dodig andFilip Polášek,[57] and sixth-seedPierre-Hugues Herbert andNicolas Mahut.[58]
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded pair ofJuan Sebastián Cabal andRobert Farah dropped their opening set for the third time in four matches before coming back to win in three overFrederik Nielsen andTim Pütz.[59] No. 7Mate Pavić andBruno Soares dropped their first set as well before winning the final two to defeatRajeev Ram andJoe Salisbury, the No. 3 pair.[60] The other two quarterfinal matches were decided in straight sets: No. 9Wesley Koolhof andNikola Mektić defeatedNicholas Monroe andTommy Paul,[61] and No. 8Kevin Krawietz andAndreas Mies defeated No. 13Jamie Murray andNeal Skupski.[62] In the semifinals, Pavić and Soares pulled off a straight-set upset of the top seeded pair,[63] while Krawietz and Mies defeated Koolhof and Mektić in two sets as well.[64] This set up a final between Pavić/Soares and Krawietz/Mies, which was won by the latter pair in straight sets.[65] This marked the second Grand Slam title for both players, as they had won the French Open doubles championshipthe year prior for their first title.
Tímea Babos /Kristina Mladenovic def.
Alexa Guarachi /Desirae Krawczyk, 6–4, 7–5The women's doubles event began on 30 September with the first of six total rounds. 16 pairs were seeded, while the other 48 players were not.[21] The first round saw the loss of two seeded pairs: No. 11Lucie Hradecká andAndreja Klepač and twin sistersLyudmyla andNadiia Kichenok, the No. 15 seeded pair.[66][67] Two further pairs fell in the second round; No. 3Elise Mertens andAryna Sabalenka were defeated and No. 12Laura Siegemund andVera Zvonareva retired after the first set of their match.[68][69] Of the fourteen remaining seeded pairs, half of them were defeated in the third round. Notably among these were the top-seeded pair,Hsieh Su-wei andBarbora Strýcová,[70] as well as No. 5Gabriela Dabrowski andJeļena Ostapenko,[71] No. 6Květa Peschke andDemi Schuurs.[72]
Five seeded pairs qualified for the quarterfinals, alongside three unseeded pairs. In the quarterfinals, No. 14Alexa Guarachi/Desirae Krawczyk upset No. 7Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara,[73]Iga Świątek/Nicole Melichar defeatedAsia Muhammad/Jessica Pegula,[74] No. 4Barbora Krejčíková/Kateřina Siniaková beat No. 9Sofia Kenin/Bethanie Mattek-Sands,[75] and No. 2Tímea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic (thedefending champions) defeatedMarta Kostyuk/Aliaksandra Sasnovich.[76] The semifinals saw the elimination of the final unranked pair, Świątek and Melichar, at the hands of Guarachi and Krawczyk,[77] while Babos and Mladenovic defeated Krejčíková and Siniaková.[78] This set up a final between the pair of Babos and Mladenovic and the pair of Guarachi and Krawczyk. The former pair successfully defended their title in straight sets by a score of 6–4, 7–5.[79]
Alfie Hewett def.
Joachim Gérard, 6–4, 4–6, 6–3The wheelchair men's singles tournament began on 7 October with the quarterfinal round. The field was composed of eight players;Shingo Kunieda anddefending championGustavo Fernández received the top two seeds and the other six players were unseeded.[21] All of the quarterfinal matches were decided in straight sets, as Kunieda defeated wild card entry Frédéric Cattanéo,Joachim Gérard defeatedNicolas Peifer,Alfie Hewett defeatedStéphane Houdet, and Fernández defeatedGordon Reid. Both semifinal matches saw a ranked player upset; No. 1 Kunieda was defeated in three sets by Gérard and No. 2 Fernández fell in two sets to Hewett.[80][81] In the final, Hewett won the first set 6–4 before losing the second set to Gérard by the same score. Hewett prevailed 6–3 in the final set to win the championship, his fourth Grand Slam singles title in his sixth appearance.[82]
Yui Kamiji def.Momoko Ohtani, 6–2, 6–1The wheelchair women's singles tournament began on 7 October with the quarterfinal round. The field was composed of eight players;Diede de Groot andYui Kamiji received the top two seeds and the other six players were unseeded.[21] All but one of the quarterfinal matches went to three sets, as de Groot defeatedJordanne Whiley,Aniek van Koot defeated wild card entry Charlotte Famin, and Kamiji defeatedMarjolein Buis.Momoko Ohtani was the only player to win in straight sets, defeatingKgothatso Montjane. This set up two semifinal matches, each to be played between a player fromThe Netherlands and a player from Japan. In each match, the Japanese player prevailed; Ohtani defeated top-seeded de Groot and Kamiji beat Van Koot, both in straight sets.[83] The final was played on 9 October between the lone Japanese players in the event. In the final, No. 2 Yui Kamiji defeated Momoko Ohtani, 6–2, 6–1, to win her fourth French Open singles title and her 24th Grand Slam title overall.[84]
Dylan Alcott def.Andy Lapthorne, 6–2, 6–2The wheelchair quad singles tournament began on 8 October with the semifinal round. The field was composed of four players;defending championDylan Alcott andAndy Lapthorne received the top two seeds and the other two players were unseeded.[21] In the opening round, Alcott faced wild card entrySam Schröder in a rematch of the final of theUS Open some weeks earlier.[85] Alcott was victorious in two sets.[86] The other semifinal saw Lapthorne defeatDavid Wagner in three sets, with Lapthorne winning the first and third.[87] The third place match took place between Schröder and Wagner, and was won by the former in straight sets. The final was played between No. 1 Alcott and No. 2 Lapthorne, with Alcott winning both sets by a score of 6–2 to capture his eleventh Grand Slam singles title.[88]
Alfie Hewett /Gordon Reid def.
Gustavo Fernández /Shingo Kunieda, 7–6(7–4), 1–6, [10–3]The wheelchair men's doubles competition featured the same eight players as contested the singles event. Houdet and Peifer teamed up to form the top-seeded pair, while Hewett and Reid were the second seeds. The other pairings were Fernandez with Kunieda, and Cattanéo with Gerard.[89] Houdet and Peifer were beaten 12–10 on a tie-break in their semi-final by Fernandez and Kunieda, after the two sides had won a set each,[90] while Hewett and Reid advanced to the final with a straight-sets victory over Cattanéo and Gerard.[91] In the final, Hewett and Reid won the first set on a tie-break before losing the second 6–1, but finished victorious after the deciding tie-break finished 10–3 in their favour.[92]
Diede de Groot /Aniek van Koot def.Yui Kamiji /Jordanne Whiley, 7–6(7–2), 3–6, [10–8]As with the men's competition, the wheelchair women's doubles event featured the same eight players as in the singles event. Two of the four pairs were seeded:Diede de Groot andAniek van Koot received the top seed, and the second seed went toYui Kamiji andJordanne Whiley. In the semifinals, De Groot and van Koot defeated the pair ofKgothatso Montjane andMomoko Ohtani, and Kamiji and Whiley defeated the pair ofMarjolein Buis and Charlotte Famin. The final was played between the pair of de Groot and van Koot, thedefending champions, and the pair of Kamiji and Whiley. The Dutch pair took the first set 7–6 in a tiebreak, but the latter pair came back to win the second set 6–3 and force the match into a third. The third set, consisting of solely a tiebreak, was won 10–8 by de Groot and van Koot, completing their successful title defense.[93]
Sam Schröder /David Wagner def.Dylan Alcott /Andy Lapthorne, 4–6, 7–5, [10–8]The wheelchair quad doubles event consisted of a single match, played on 9 October between the pair ofDylan Alcott andAndy Lapthorne and the pair ofDavid Wagner andSam Schröder.[21] Alcott and Wagner won this event as partners at thetournament the year prior, but chose to partner with different players for this edition.[94] The first set was won by Alcott and Lapthorne, 6–4, but Schröder and Wagner responded with a 7–5 win in the second set. The third set consisted only of a tiebreak, which was won by Schröder and Wagner, 10–8, to capture their second and nineteenth overall Grand Slam titles, respectively.[95]
Dominic Stricker def.Leandro Riedi, 6–2, 6–4Of the sixteen seeded players, only two made it through the first three rounds and into the quarterfinals: No. 7Dominic Stricker and No. 8Leandro Riedi. Stricker defeatedLukas Neumayer in his quarterfinal matchup, while Riede battled from behind to defeatAlex Barrena. The other two matches sawJuan Bautista Torres defeat Lilian Marmousez andGuy den Ouden defeat Sean Cuenin. In the semifinals, Stricker beat Torres in three sets (with both of his wins coming by virtue ofbagels), while Riedi booked a place in the final by defeating den Ouden in two sets. The all-Swiss championship match was won by Stricker, as he defeated Riede 6–2, 6–4, to claim his first junior Grand Slam title.[96]
Elsa Jacquemot def.
Alina Charaeva, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2Of the sixteen seeded players, five made it past the first three rounds and qualified for the quarterfinals. Among them was No. 3Elsa Jacquemot, who was awarded awild card into the main competition, but lost to qualifierRenata Zarazúa in the first round; she then entered the Girls' Singles competition. Jaacquemot defeated No. 10Kristina Dmitruk in straight sets in her quarterfinal match; the other matches sawAlina Charaeva upset No. 9 Alexandra Vecic, No. 4 Polina Kudermetova defeatOcéane Babel, and No. 2Alexandra Eala defeatLinda Nosková. In the semifinals, Charaeva pulled another upset by defeating Kudermetova, while Jacquemot defeated Eala. The final was played between Jacquemot and Charaeva, and was won by the former, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2.[citation needed]
Flavio Cobolli /Dominic Stricker def. Bruno Oliveira / Natan Rodrigues, 6–2, 6–4Of the four pairs that qualified for the semifinals, two were seeded. Only three seeded pairs of the original eight made it past the second round, notably No. 1Arthur Cazaux andHarold Mayot, who withdrew before their opening match. The only seeded pair to lose their quarterfinal match was No. 7 Mikołaj Lorens andKārlis Ozoliņš, who retired before the second set began. The No. 8 pair of Bruno Oliveira and Natan Rodrigues qualified for the semifinals, defeating Martin Krumich andDalibor Svrčina in two sets to book a place in the final. The No. 3 pair ofFlavio Cobolli andDominic Stricker defeated Lilian Marmousez andGiovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a third-set tiebreak to win their semifinal match and advance to the final. In the championship match, Cobolli and Stricker defeated Oliveira and Rodrigues, 6–2, 6–4, to win the title.[97]
Eleonora Alvisi /Lisa Pigato def.Maria Bondarenko /Diana Shnaider, 7–6(7–3), 6–4Of the eight pairs that were seeded at the start of the tournament, two were among the four pairs that qualified for the semifinal round. Notably, the top-seeded pair ofWeronika Baszak andElsa Jacquemot were defeated in straight sets in the first round, while No. 3Alexandra Eala andElvina Kalieva were knocked out in the third-set tiebreak of their opening match.[98] The semifinals saw the fifth-seeded pair ofMaria Bondarenko andDiana Shnaider come from behind to defeatJéssica Bouzas Maneiro andGuillermina Grant, and No. 2Kamilla Bartone andOksana Selekhmeteva lose in an upset toEleonora Alvisi andLisa Pigato. This set up a final between No. 5 Bondarenko/Shnaider and unseeded Alvisi/Pigato, which was won in an upset by the latter in straight sets, 7–6(7–3), 6–4.[99]
Below is a series of tables for each of the competitions showing the ranking points on offer for each event.
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Round of 64 | Round of 128 | Q | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 |
| Men's singles | 2000 | 1200 | 720 | 360 | 180 | 90 | 45 | 10 | 25 | 16 | 8 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's doubles | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| Women's singles | 1300 | 780 | 430 | 240 | 130 | 70 | 10 | 40 | 30 | 20 | 2 | |
| Women's doubles | 10 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Event | W | F | SF/3rd | QF/4th |
| Singles | 800 | 500 | 375 | 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doubles | 800 | 500 | 100 | — |
| Quad singles | 800 | 500 | 100 | — |
| Quad doubles | 800 | 100 | — | — |
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Q | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys' singles | 1000 | 600 | 370 | 200 | 100 | 45 | 30 | 20 |
| Girls' singles | ||||||||
| Boys' doubles | 750 | 450 | 275 | 150 | 75 | — | — | — |
| Girls' doubles | — | — | — |
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Round of 64 | Round of 128 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 |
| Singles | €1,600,000 | €800,000 | €425,250 | €283,500 | €189,000 | €126,000 | €84,000 | €60,000 | €25,600 | €16,000 | €10,000 |
| Doubles * | €319,652 | €188,030 | €110,606 | €65,062 | €38,272 | €23,920 | €14,950 | — | — | — | — |
| Wheelchair singles | € | € | € | € | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wheelchair doubles * | € | € | € | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
* per team
Hormis l'annulation du double mixte et du « tournoi des légendes », l'intégralité de la programmation habituelle a été maintenue, même si les qualifications se tiendront à huis clos.[Apart from the cancellation of the mixed doubles and the "Legends tournament", all of the usual programme has been maintained, although the qualifying round will be held behind closed doors.]
| Preceded by | French Open | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Grand Slam events | Succeeded by |
