Rain has become the story at Roland Garros

PARIS—And on the seventh day, it rained.

Again.

Roland Garros—or the Drench Open, an unfortunate but appropriate moniker from wordsmith Chris Clarey—cannot catch a break when it comes to the weather. Rain has fallen in some form for the past seven days, which is to say the entire main-draw schedule. Retractable roofs over Courts Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen have received more use over one week than they may for the rest of this decade. In a stroke of good fortune, the roof over Lenglen debuted this year. It's difficult to fathom where the tournament would be without it.

Pity the schedule makers, who piece together delicate daily puzzles yet have been forced to start over with each stretch of pluie.They've tried to begin play earlier, and jam more matches onto more courts, but it hasn't really mattered. The rain has been that prolonged.

On Saturday, play on outside courts began as scheduled (with two men's third-round matches still to be completed from yesterday), but was called around 1 p.m. local time.

We haven't seen any play since. Intrepid journalist Jose Morgado's timeline read like Bart Simpson's punishment on a Springfield Elementary chalkboard:

No play on the outside courts before 2.15pm
No play on the outside courts before 3pm.
No play on the outside courts before 3.30pm
No play on the outside courts before 4pm
4.45pm

Around 5 p.m. local time, all doubles matches were cancelled for the day. As of this time, only 10 games of second-round play in the women's doubles event had been contested, and six first-round matches are still to be finished.

When widespread play has been possible, it's lasted well into the night, sometimes into the next day. Lighted courts were not used at Roland Garros until recently, but the LED bulbs will be racking up quite a utility bill.

On top of the rain, it's been cold, with temperatures in the 50s and 60s (Fahrenheit), but feeling much lower. Hooded tops and parka coats (still stylishly worn) are common sights, with sunscreen collecting dust on vendors' shelves.

The few shorts we have seen have been on the players. Though not on every player, as Daniil Medvedev showed during his third-rounder with Tomas Machac:

Rain is something the Grand Slams have learned to deal with, at great financial cost. But when the first week is inundated with conditions like those in Paris, there's simply nothing the tournament can do.

Around 5:15 p.m., tarps started coming off outside courts. Fans on Court Simonne-Mathieu, who deserve immense credit and a few complimentary beverages (even if they're not permitted in the stands), have largely stuck around and are taking to their damp, waterlogged seats.

Twenty-five minutes later, play is underway. Let it stay that way.