Wimbledon Cancelled As Grass Court Season Called Off
The AELTC has confirmed that The Championships, Wimbledon has been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The organisation’s Main Board and its Committee of Management of The Championships took the decision, and announced that the next edition of the event – the 134th Championships – will take place from 28 June to 11 July 2021.
Meanwhile, the LTA, ATP, WTA and ITF have also announced the cancellation of the rest of the 2020 grass court season.
“While in some ways this has been a challenging decision, we strongly believe it is not only in the best interests of society at this time, but also provides certainty to our colleagues in international tennis given the impact on the grass court events in the UK and in Europe and the broader tennis calendar,” said Richard Lewis, Chief Executive, AELTC.
“We have appreciated the support of the LTA, and the ATP, WTA and ITF in coming to this decision, and our friends and partners who stage these grass court events that are so important in the build up to Wimbledon. I would like to thank the UK Government and public health authorities for their guidance and support, and we will do whatever we can to assist their efforts in tackling the crisis.
“Finally, I would like to thank all those who love Wimbledon for their understanding of these unique and unquestionably challenging circumstances. It is your passion for The Championships that has shaped our event over the years, and will continue to do so, and we look forward to preparing a fantastic Championships for 2021.”
The AELTC says its efforts will now be focused on contributing to the emergency response and supporting those affected by the coronavirus crisis.
The organisation has confirmed that it is distributing medical equipment and has offered the use of its facilities to the NHS and to the London Resilience Partnership, the collection of agencies in London fighting the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
It is also working with Merton and Wandsworth councils, and is distributing food supplies through its partnership with City Harvest. The Wimbledon Foundation, meanwhile, is offering funding support to local communities in partnership with the London Community Foundation, and more broadly for the London and UK population through Wimbledon’s partnership with the British Red Cross.
As well as Wimbledon, the news sees the LTA’s events in Eastbourne, Nottingham and Birmingham cancelled, as well as the Fever-Tree Championships at The Queens Club in London.
Scott Lloyd, CEO, LTA, said: “Given the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest government advice and our discussions with the ATP, WTA, ITF and AELTC, it is with deep regret that our summer grass court tournaments and the British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships have been cancelled for 2020. This is an unprecedented situation and the health of those attending our tournaments as spectators, players, staff, media, sponsors and guests had to be our number one consideration.
“We at the LTA will be working hard to support our wider tennis community to allow the sport a strong return to health when conditions allow. In the meantime we hope that our tennis fans are staying safe and we look forward to welcoming them back to tennis when we can.”
