French Open Could Move Outside Paris

The French Open could be moved from the clay-court of Roland Garros to a location outside of Paris, confirmed Gilbert Ysern, general director of the French tennis federation.

Ysern said that the move is to be considered because the Open needs more space to remain competitive with the three other major tournaments.

Three options are being examined, including one next to Versailles castle and another site near Disneyland Paris.

The French Open has been at Roland Garros since 1928 and the federation has a contract there till 2015.

Ysern admitted that the lack of space for the 450,000 annual spectators, players, journalists and sponsors is cause for concern, whilst the absence of covered courts leaves the tournament vulnerable to the rain.

However, if the tournament stays in Paris, three adjoining areas will be added to Roland Garros at a cost of around $251m and building a new stadium outside Paris would cost an estimated $754m.

Among the Grand Slam tournaments, only the French Open and Wimbledon have never been moved.