German tennis official believes Wimbledon will be canceled
German Tennis Federation (DTB) vice president Dirk Hordorff believes the Wimbledon tennis championships scheduled for June and July in England will be canceled this week due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (AELTC) said last week it was “actively weighing postponement or outright cancellation” for the annual event scheduled to begin June 29. The AELTC is scheduled to hold an emergency board meeting Wednesday to make a final decision.
German official says Wimbledon will cancel
Hordorff, who is listed as an active coach on the ATP men’s tour told Sky Sports Germany the decision has already been made. (H/T CNN)
"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. That is unthinkable."
If Wimbledon is canceled, it would be the first time since 1945 the Grand Slam event wasn’t played. And, as with the Olympics, it will be the first time it was canceled for something other than a World War. Wimbledon was skipped from 1915 to 1918 during World War I and again from 1940 to 1945 during World War II.
Could they postpone Wimbledon?
Wimbledon officials are running into the same issues sporting entities around the globe are running into. While postponing an event seems at first like the best course of action, it becomes complicated due to the scheduling of other events around it. There is also no guarantee the coronavirus pandemic will end anytime soon.
As with the Olympics, Wimbledon officials would have to work around an international schedule to put Wimbledon on another date. The French Open has already pushed its way around the calendar, moving that Grand Slam from May to Sept. 20. That’s one week after the U.S. Open and during the Lavar Cup. It has angered some players and fans.
Wimbledon is also unique in that it’s played on grass, which requires labor-intensive upkeep and takes approximately six weeks to prepare for the event, tennis commentator Barry Cowan told Sky Sports.
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