The oldest tennis tournament in the world, Wimbledon, was canceled due to COVID-19. (Image via Tennis World USA)

Wimbledon canceled due to COVID-19

The 2020 Summer Olympics is not the only major competition in the world that got canceled due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak in the world. For the first time in its century and a half history, Wimbledon will be canceled due to a pandemic outbreak, not war.

First held in 1877, Wimbledon saw its cancelations due to two occasions, WW1 in 1915 – 1918 and WW2 in 1940 – 1945.

Since Great Britain has announced a full lockdown, the All England Club decided to abort the two-week tennis tournament, the first time for 75 years.

All England Club Chairman, Ian Hewitt, confirmed the cancelation of 2020 Wimbledon. Stating that the Wimbledon was previously canceled due to World Wars, the oldest tennis tournament was canceled due to COVID-19, seen as the right decision. Hewitt said that the All England Club will concentrate on how to help those in need.

The 2020 Wimbledon was supposed to start from 29 June to 12 July.

The eight-time Wimbledon champ and a Swiss tennis player, Roger Federer, represented the voices of the athletes through a one-word tweet: “Devastated”. The current champs of Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep, will not get the chance to stay defend their titles.

ATP and WTA also announced on Wednesday that the men’s and women’s professional tours will be suspended until at least 13 July. Top tours are canceled through 7 June and lower-level tours are canceled for the first two weeks of July.

Shortly after the cancelation of Wimbledon, U.S Tennis Association revealed that the U.S Open will still be held on schedule. French Open is not canceled too, having been postponed from late May to late September.

Source: https://bit.ly/39xRvE5