Carillo warns of French folly
Tennis broadcasting legend Mary Carillo has no regrets about not being in Paris for the French Open, which begins Sunday.
From what she’s hearing out of Roland Garros, French organizers have not stepped up their game in following the U.S. Open’s impeccable safety protocols.
Carillo and broadcast partner John McEnroe will call the French Open for NBC from the states for safety reasons. Carillo will call the shots with Dan Hicks in a Stamford, Conn. studio. McEnroe will do the matches from his Malibu, Calif., home.
After a recent COVID-19 spike, the French Open announced this week the fan limit has been reduced from 11,500 to 5,000. That’s still too many for Carillo, who thought the USTA did brilliantly in staging a fan-less Grand Slam that ended two weeks ago in Flushing.
“I’m not that crazy going to Paris right now,’’ Carillo told The Post. “Europe seems to be spiking, including there. That the French Open is allowing 5,000 fans a day is concerning. It’s not ideal. Quarantining and protocols seem a little shabby to me. It was much tighter at the U.S. Open.’’
Carillo has heard the player hotels haven’t been under the same kind of bubble restrictions the U.S. Open used. Six players in the French Open qualifiers reportedly already have tested positive.
“It makes me a little jumpy,’’ Carillo said. “This is the second major being played [since the pandemic]. You’d think they already have the playbook for how it should be done. It should be tighter, not looser. The hotels, we’re getting reports from French Open qualifiers the hotels aren’t secured.
“There’s also continuing construction at Roland Garros. So much construction, the qualifiers this week, they are all are operating out of one small café. There’s no social distancing. You can’t do it.’’
Carillo said she has learned of a player not getting tested upon arrival. In another case, she has been told of players picking up their credentials before their test results had returned.
“That didn’t happen at the U.S. Open,’’ Carillo said.
At the U.S. Open, the only player to test positive was Frenchman Benoit Paire — days before the start.