BRISBANE – Top-ranked Ash Barty will not defend her French Open title because of concerns over traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic.After skipping the U.S.
Open, which is being contested in New York without crowds, Barty has also decided against traveling to Europe for an event in Rome starting Sept.
14 and the Sept. 27-Oct. 10 French Open. “Last year’s French Open was the most special tournament of my career so this is not a decision I have made lightly,” Barty, who won her first major title on the clay courts of Roland Garros, said in a statement Tuesday.