Tennis News 2020

According to CNN, the Wimbledon tennis championships and tournament will be canceled this week. CNN reports that German Tennis Federation (DTB) vice-president Dirk Hordorff made the announcement Sunday.

Tournament organizer the All England Club (AELTC) will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday and is expected to make a final decision on the grand slam event, which is set to begin on June 29.

CNN also reported that in a statement issued last week, the AELTC said it had been evaluating all possible scenarios, including both postponement and cancellation, amid the coronavirus outbreak.

According to Reuters, Hordorff told Sky Sports Germany: “I am also involved in the bodies of the ATP and WTA. The necessary decisions have already been made there and Wimbledon will decide to cancel next Wednesday. There is no doubt about it. This is necessary in the current situation. It is completely unrealistic to imagine that with the travel restrictions that we currently have an international tennis tournament where hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world would travel.”

Cancelling Wimbledon would be the first time since World War II that the grand slam will not have been staged. The French Open, due to start on May 18, has already been pushed back until sometime in September, while most professional tennis has been suspended until further notice.