French Open Tennis
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Christian Bīmes, chairman of the French Tennis Federation, has announced that as of 2006 the winners of the men's and women's singles at the French Open will receive the same amount in prize money. The amount of prize money paid out in 2006 will also be more than ever before. By way of a reminder, the French Open winnings have increased overall by 73% over the last ten years and by 86% for the women's singles alone. "This decision for parity between the singles' winners shows the FFT's commitment to playing a leading role in the development of women's sport in Europe, Christian Bīmes underlined.
Furthermore, the federation chairman announced that the FFT was going ahead with its idea of starting the French Open on a Sunday: "We want to take advantage of the exceptional promotional platform offered by launching the broadcast of one of tennis's biggest events on a Sunday, when the public are more available.
This plan has been discussed at length with the ATP and WTA, as well as with the Grand Slam committee, during 2005. The common consensus is that it represents the right way forward for the promotion of tennis around the world. As a result, I can tell you that the French Open will commence on Sunday 28th May and conclude on Sunday 11 June 2006."
Twelve matches will be scheduled for this opening Sunday, on the stadium's three main courts (Philippe-Chatrier, Suzanne-Lenglen and No. 1). The other courts will be reserved for training. The first round of the singles will be completed over three days, with the first half of the draw playing on the Sunday and Monday and the rest on the Monday and Tuesday.
In order to respect the tournament calendar and to allow sufficient recovery time, players involved in an event on the Friday and Saturday of the previous week will not be scheduled to play before the Monday.