The Lawn Tennis Association has confirmed that there will be no Wimbledon Grand Slam in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to cancel Wimbledon had been expected, with all ATP and WTA events previously suspended until June 7, just two weeks prior to the start of the tournament.
A statement released by Wimbledon on Wednesday afternoon said:
“Following a series of detailed deliberations on all of the above, it is the Committee of Management’s view that cancellation of The Championships is the best decision in the interests of public health and that being able to provide certainty by taking this decision now, rather than in several weeks, is important for everyone involved in tennis and The Championships.
“Members of the public who paid for tickets in the Wimbledon Public Ballot for this year’s Championships will have their tickets refunded and will be offered the chance to purchase tickets for the same day and court for The Championships 2021.”
The LTA’s major concern with rescheduling the tournament later in the year was overplaying conditions on the English grass courts, with the British weather only being optimal for the Wimbledon playing surface for a short period in the height of the summer.
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With the US Open currently set in the calendar for late August and the French Open already moved to mid-September, there was no obvious window for Wimbledon to move to in the tennis calendar without forcing dangerous playing conditions on the players.
“This is a decision that we have not taken lightly,” said Ian Hewitt, All England Club chairman. “We have done so with the highest regard for public health and the wellbeing of all those who come together to make Wimbledon happen.
” It has weighed heavily on our minds that the staging of The Championships has only been interrupted previously by World Wars but, following thorough and extensive consideration of all scenarios, we believe that it is a measure of this global crisis that it is ultimately the right decision to cancel this year’s Championships, and instead concentrate on how we can use the breadth of Wimbledon’s resources to help those in our local communities and beyond.”
The grass-court tournaments in Nottingham, Birmingham, Eastbourne and at Queen’s Club are all expected to be cancelled in light of the announcement, as are the remainder of the grass-court events across Europe in June and July.