DON’T WORRY ABOUT US!
Ironclad insurance to protect Wimbledon as axe set to fall
Wimbledon is expected to be called off in the next 24 hours, although the financial damage will be limited by its extensive insurance policy that guards against the coronavirus pandemic.
Whereas the French open yesterday admitted it could face losses of €260million (£230m) if it is not played this year, the All england Club should be shielded from the worst effects of being cancelled.
Figures from 2018 showed that The Championships had an annual turnover of £254.8m. There will inevitably be some financial hit from the first annulment of the tournament since 1945 — and negotiations with insurers — but refunds to ticket-holders and television rights- holders are expected to be covered. one senior figure at the club put the cost of the insurance policy at ‘around the low seven figures’ and it will look like good value in largely preserving the finances of british tennis.
As Sportsmail revealed at the weekend, the All england Club’s risk and finance sub-committee have long insisted on a clause covering epidemics and the policy has been upgraded accordingly in recent years.
Consequently, there has been more of an acceptance that a fallow year can be survived. That is expected to be confirmed by emergency meetings of the main board which began yesterday.
A formal announcement is expected later today, or by tomorrow evening at the latest. it will mean novak djokovic and Simona Halep having to wait for the chance to defend their singles titles.
Wimbledon’s acute attention to detail, which can sometimes extend to the pedantic, has proved an advantage here.
An example of that micromanagement has been the allwhite clothing rule, which was to undergo a small but significant relaxation this year, had the tournament been played.
For the first time players would have been permitted to sport a coloured stripe on the back of their shirt or dress. in a letter recently sent out to manufacturers, seen by Sportsmail, the club says the trim would be strictly limited to a width of 10mm.
Across the english Channel — where anything goes, clothes-wise — there is far more anxiety when it comes to the French open.
it has controversially shifted its theoretical start date to
September 20, upsetting the rest of the tennis world.
in an interview with L’Equipe, the French Tennis Federation’s finance chief lionel maltese attempted to explain why they took such a radical step.
explaining that failing to play the event would be a ‘catastrophe’ for the grass-roots game it supports, he estimated they might suffer losses of €260m. increasingly in there are fears that Wimbledon’s W abandonment will presage pr the entire 2020 season being be shut down.
Craig C Tiley, the influential supremo su of Tennis Australia, told
Th The Age: ‘For tennis to come back this th year is going to be tough. it re relies on global travel and that’s pr probably the last thing that’s going to come back. Sports that have a domestic focus are in a strong position. Sports with a global focus are more challenged.’
Amelie mauresmo, former Wimbledon champion and excoach of Andy murray, tweeted: ‘i think we are going to have to draw a line under the tennis season, no vaccine = no tennis.’