WASHINGTON, March 30, 2020 (by Michael Dickens)
The Telegraph tennis correspondent Simon Briggs confirmed Sunday night that the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club will announce the cancellation of Wimbledon after its emergency board meeting scheduled on Wednesday. According to the London-based The Telegraph, “most of the club’s potential losses are likely to be converted by specialised pandemic insurance.”
Briggs writes: “The club deserves credit for equipping itself with this policy – something that the other grand slam events are not thought to have. One organisation that will be particularly grateful for the club’s far-sighted decision is the Lawn Tennis Association, which received almost £41 million from the Wimbledon surplus in its latest published accounts.”
Earlier Sunday, during an interview on Germany’s Sky Sports network, German tennis federation vice president Dirk Hordorff hinted a decision had already been made – and it’s a necessary one.
“Wimbledon has stated that they will have a board meeting next Wednesday and will make the final decision there,” Hordorff said. “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. This is unthinkable.”
Currently, the ATP, ITF and WTA have suspended all tournaments through June 7. The French Open, originally scheduled for May 24-June 7, was unilaterally moved by the French tennis federation to later in the calendar to September 20-October 4, a move which drew much criticism when it was announced earlier this month.
Wimbledon cancellation to be confirmed by All England Club this week | @simonrbriggs https://t.co/sGmXZn9q06
— Telegraph Sport (@TelegraphSport) March 29, 2020
