The glorious clay courts in Paris had to be under the shadow of dark clouds. The French Open 2024 recently started rolling out the initial round matches for players and soon after the draw received momentum, the red dirt had to be covered because of unexpected rain showers. Paula Badosa, Peyton Stearns, Sloane Stephens and others who waited for their moment to step into the arena had to stay back as the authorities were forced to announce a delay.

Paula Badosa showed great signs of recovery back in Rome. While the tennis star gained confidence by making it to the top 16 at the Italian Open, she prepared to be even better in Paris. The draw was out and the stage was set, calling out players who were scheduled to play their initial matches today. While everyone had a consistent eye on the clock, they had to keep waiting extensively as nature’s wrath had planned a different fate.

The authorities had to be quick in getting the covers on to protect the clay court as rain showers disrupted the match schedule. While the update said that the matches would not be resumed before 1 PM (local time), it had to be extended by another hour and then finally the weather appeared to be lending a relief.

Soon after the organizers decided to call the participants in and resume the match, it started raining again, limiting the hopes to just a few warm-up shots tossed in the arena.

While the covers are on once again, there’s still no update on when the play will be resumed, at least not before 4pm. With players like Sloane Stephens and Peyton Stearns waiting to face Yulia Putintseva and Lujica Ciric Bagaric respectively, the fans are also not ready to leave the arena, despite the long delays.

Play resumes after 5 hours of extensive delay

The crowd present in the arena continues to wish for a clear sky like they never did before. While everyone was there to witness some of the most intense clashes in the opening round, the frustration levels experienced a quick surge. Everyone kept waiting for the clock to hit 2 and as it did, another update for extensive started to flash on the TV screens.

After 5 long hours of eagerly waiting for the sky to be cleared, the fans finally saw a ray of hope as the sky cleared out, finally allowing the organisers to get the sheets of the courts and therefore ring the bells for players to step back for their respective matches. As it happened, the day became memorable not just for the action but the hassles that the fans had to go through.