The
organizers of the
Rome Open have announced plans to build a retractable roof
and provide support for those affected by floods.
The 2023
edition of the Rome Open was different due to the constant rains that forced
the suspension of matches throughout the week, including the semifinals between
Daniil Medvedev and
Stefanos Tsitsipas, and
Elena Rybakina and Jelena
Ostapenko.
The
difficulties not only led to match suspensions during the week but also
resulted in schedule delays, with some matches extending past midnight,
including the final between Rybakina and
Anhelina Kalinina. In response, the
organization has announced their plans to construct a roof, as stated by Vito
Cozzoli, the executive director of Sport e Salute.
“The roof
is coming,” claimed Cozzoli.
“The
feasibility plan has been approved and it will be a futuristic project that
will make the Foro Italico’s center court usable year round.”
The
tournament's development was not the only complication in Rome, as heavy rains
caused unprecedented flooding in some towns. As a result, the organizers have
announced assistance programs for those affected by the floods.
“We will
refund all tickets purchased between Thursday and Sunday to all residents on
the list of Municipalities affected by the flood that the Government will draw
up,” said Angelo Binaghi, the FITP president.
“We were
amazed by what happened here in Rome, in our memory something like this had
never happened. But it is only a very small part of the disaster that hit the
towns of Emilia-Romagna,” he added.
“As a
federation, we want to issue contributions by helping our sports clubs whose
facilities were damaged by the disaster. We have commissioned the
Emilia-Romagna committee to carry out a census to calculate the extent of the
damage.”
