(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 29, 2019 people sit in sun loungers outside of the courts and watch on a giant screen the men's singles second-round match between Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas and Bolivia's Hugo Dellien on day four of The Roland Gar
The French Open will allow only 5,000 spectators per day following a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the country, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) said on Thursday.
The FFT had announced this month that the claycourt major would permit a maximum of 11,500 fans per day at the tournament, which will be held at Roland Garros from Sept. 27-Oct. 11 after being moved from its usual late May-June slot due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The health situation in the Ile-de-France region has led the Paris Police Prefecture to limit the number of spectators at Roland Garros to 5,000 per day over the entire 12-hectare site," the FFT said in a statement.
France has recorded over 438,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 31,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.
On Thursday, the country registered a record 10,593 new confirmed coronavirus cases in 24 hours -- its highest single-day count since the pandemic began.
The FFT had initially been aiming to host daily crowds of 5,000 at both the Philippe-Chatrier and Suzanne-Lenglen show courts while 1,500 fans were due to watch matches at the smaller Simonne-Mathieu court.
A record 520,000 spectators attended last year's French Open, according to organisers.
