Wimbledon canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

Wimbledon Tennis Championship of this year has been canceled due to Coronavirus Pandemic. The tournament was set to begin from June 29 but the decision to cancel it was taken in the light of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom.

Before the announcement, tournament organizer the All England lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) held an emergency meeting on April 1 to go through the other possible options. The possibility of playing the tournament behind closed doors was already ruled out.

The tournament was set to begin for two weeks from June 29, 2020. All England Club Chairman Ian Hewitt said in his statement that the decision has not been taken lightly and the only time the championship was interrupted earlier was at the time of World War.

Wimbledon announced this momentous decision of tournament cancellation through their official twitter handle.

Player’s Reaction

Serena Williams, the 7-time tournament champion tweeted ‘shooked' by this decision

Roger Federer tweeted ‘devastated’. Federer is an 8-time champion of the tournament.

Simon Halep took this decision in a positive light and tweeted that she has even longer to defend her title.

Other Major Sports Championships

• French Open: Due to be held on May 18 has already been pushed back until September. While other professional tennis tournaments have been suspended until further notice.

• US Open: Set to start on August 24 in New York, the organizers of the tournament are monitoring the situation and still plan to hold the tournament.

• World Athletic Championship: Earlier to be held in 2021, the Athletic championship has now been shifted to 2022.

•  Tokyo Olympics: The Olympics has now been postponed to July 23- August 8, 2021 due to the COVID- 19 outbreak.