No games, no sets, no matches
Wimbledon has become the latest sporting event to be cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.
While the decision had looked inevitable for some time, since the virtual shutdown of world sport, Wimbledon had been one of the few events not to have been officially cancelled or postponed.
But after emergency talks between various stakeholders over the past few days, the All England Lawn Tennis Club announced yesterday it was impossible for the grasscourt Grand Slam, scheduled for June
29-July 12, to take place.
The All England Club said in a statement: ‘‘It is with great regret that the AELTC has today decided that The Championships
2020 will be cancelled due to public health concerns linked to the coronavirus epidemic.
‘‘The 134th Championships will instead be staged from 28 June to 11 July 2021.’’
Wimbledon was first held in
1877 and has been contested every year since, with the exception of two periods: from 1915-18 because of World War I, and from 1940-45 because of World War II.
Swiss great Roger Federer, who will be nearly 40 when next year’s event rolls around, posted that he was ‘‘devastated’’ at the news, but has set his sights on the
2021 edition.
US ace Serena Williams described herself as ‘‘shocked’’, while Scotsman Andy Murray was ‘‘very sad’’ at the axing.
The men’s ATP Tour and women’s WTA Tour are already suspended until at least June 7 but it looks extremely unlikely that any professional tennis will be possible throughout the northern hemisphere summer as the pandemic worsens in Europe and the US.
Shortly after the news came from Wimbledon, the US Tennis Association issued a statement saying it ‘‘still plans to host the US Open as scheduled,’’ from August 31 to September 13 in New York.
As of now, the French Open is set to begin six days after the men’s final at Flushing Meadows, where a facility housing indoor practice courts is now a temporary 350-bed hospital and Louis Armstrong Stadium is being used to prepare 25,000 meal packages per day for patients, workers, volunteers and schoolchildren in the city.
The decision by the All England Club means Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep will not get a chance to defend their Wimbledon titles from 2019.
‘‘We are going through something bigger than tennis and Wimbledon will be back!’’ Halep wrote on social media. ‘‘And it means I have even longer to look forward to defending my title.’’