Rain, rain, go away: French Open players deal with the stress of schedule-changing showers

PARIS (AP) — For 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, the biggest question at this rainy-as-can-be French Open was: Should I eat a full lunch or just have a tiny snack? Her second-round match, like many others, was being delayed by heavy showers, and she couldn't possibly know when it would resume.

Turned out the 31st-seeded Canadian didn't get back on court later that day at all, so her coach made the right call by telling her to go ahead and have a plate of pasta — along with some croissants, a banana and an orange. Then, after returning to Roland Garros the next morning, Fernandez had to wait until about 5 p.m. to pick things back up on Court 8 and, eventually, finish off her victory.

The wet weather just keeps coming this week at the French Open. It has been delaying and postponing matches, jumbling the schedule, prompting court changes and, all in all, creating stress and uncertainty for the world’s best tennis players.

“It is hard, more mentally than physically. You don’t know when you can mentally relax a little bit. You kind of have to be switched on all the time,” Fernandez said after winning Thursday to set up a third-round match against two-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur. “Even when your coaches tell you can take a nap — ‘Close your eyes; we’ll be on top of things’ — for me, it's like, ‘No, I cant fully switch off.’ I need to be ready for whatever happens.”