Murray doubts Roland Garros can be staged in September

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray says he will be fit to play Roland Garros in September – but whether the tournament goes ahead is another question.

Murray hasn’t played since the inaugural Davis Cup Finals in November due to a bone bruise on his pelvis, withdrawing from the Australian Open and various tournaments in February.

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Roland Garros made the unilateral and controversial decision to reschedule their Grand Slam to a start date of September 20th, which is just one week after the U.S. Open is due to finish.

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Murray says he will be ready for Roland Garros, but remains skeptical that the tournament will be staged, declaring tennis would be one of the last sports to return to a usual calendar after the coronavirus pandemic eventually subsides.

“I would definitely play on the clay if it goes ahead. I’m a bit skeptical whether it will,” Murray told CNN.

“I would imagine tennis would be one of the last sports to get back to normality because you’ve obviously got players and coaches and teams coming from all over the world into one area. I would be surprised if they were back playing sport by September-time.”

Murray said it wouldn’t be fair if some players could freely travel from their countries and play tournaments, while others are potentially trapped because their nations haven’t recovered from the COVID-19 crisis.

“You have to feel like the whole world is working normally again and travelling normally before tennis would go back, especially the major competitions,” Murray added. “If you took the French Open, let’s say things in Europe have improved, but there are certain countries that might still have issues.

“If you then have a tournament where people or players from a certain continent or countries are not allowed to come in to compete. I think the tournament loses.”

Meanwhile, fresh reports state that Roland Garros could be pushed back another week to a start date of September 27 in order to allow players rest after the U.S. Open.

French publication Le Parisien report the tournament will be held from September 27 to October 11, 2020.

Roland Garros or the FFT have yet to comment on the news.