STARNBERG, March 25, 2020

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) confirmed Wednesday that it is continuing a detailed evaluation of all scenarios for this year’s Wimbledon Championships, including postponement and cancellation, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The fate of the Grand Slam tournament, scheduled to be held from June 29 to July 12, will be decided at an emergency board meeting next week. The AELTC admit that postponement is not without significant risk and difficulty due to the nature of the grass-court surface while playing behind closed doors has been formally ruled out.

Sights for sore eyes 🌷#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/6wnIzWTuap

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) March 23, 2020

Richard Lewis CBE, AELTC Chief Executive, commented: “The unprecedented challenge presented by the COVID-19 crisis continues to affect our way of life in ways that we could not have imagined, and our thoughts are with all those affected in the UK and around the world.

“The single most important consideration is one of public health, and we are determined to act responsibly through the decisions we make.

“We are working hard to bring certainty to our plans for 2020 and have convened an emergency meeting of the AELTC Main Board for next week, at which a decision will be made.”