French Open: Danielle Collins, Ben Shelton, and Frances Tiafoe Await Their Fate as Devastating Rain Creates Scheduling Havoc

Across the tournaments this year, we have witnessed some shocking changes in weather that have affected play. Take the example of the Miami Open earlier this year. Incessant rains at the tournament caused havoc as a scheduling mess was created due to the postponement of matches. A similar situation is brewing at the ongoing French Open due to which the likes of Danielle Collins, Ben Shelton, and Frances Tiafoe have been affected.

Over the past few days, the skies have been cloudy in Paris and the rain gods have been an unwelcome guest. As a result, play has been interrupted multiple times across the day, leading to a scheduling mess at the event. Minutes ago, it was announced that heavy rains have led to all the play being canceled on the outside courts at Roland Garros.

Among the prominent players whose match was affected was Danielle Collins, who was scheduled to face Olga Danilovic on Court Simonne-Mathieu in the second-round clash. However, the match was postponed to tomorrow due to which Collins will have to play back-to-back matches if she manages to win against Danilovic.

Similarly, Frances Tiafoe was due to play his match on Court 11 against Denis Shapovalov. However, with the rain gods interrupting the play, the match will be rescheduled to tomorrow. On the other hand, Ben Shelton was already involved in a tight battle against Kei Nishikori on Court 7. While they were locked at 5-5 in the first set, rain got heavier, leading to the two players stepping off the court.

With the tournament schedule already running busy on the ATP and the WTA Tours, rain gods further create a mess as far as the order of play is concerned. It leaves players with little to no rest as they are forced to play back-to-back matches. Recently, Elena Rybakina made her feelings felt on the packed schedule of tournaments.

Elena Rybakina hits out at the WTA for poor scheduling

Rybakina, who was the 2023 Italian Open champion, was forced to miss this year’s edition owing to not being 100% fit due to hectic schedules. Subsequently, while announcing her withdrawal Rybakina ensured that her words were heard by the top-rank officials of the tennis bodies.

She said, “I was really tired. I think these tournaments which became so long, it’s not very helpful, I would say, because if you’re fit, you’re fit, you’re going to play every day and the tournament finishes. But to stay in one place for almost two weeks, and it’s not like here you finish and you go rest.”

Nonetheless, she has come back rejuvenated and will play her second-round match tomorrow. Do you feel that the governing bodies of tennis should do better to avoid scheduling mess? Let us know your views in the comments below.