Wimbledon chiefs will announce on Wednesday that this year’s tournament has been cancelled, according to one of the sport’s leading figures.
Dirk Hordoff, vice-president of the German Tennis Federation, said that because the All England Lawn Tennis Club, who run Wimbledon, were insured for a pandemic, it was easier to pull the plug on the event.
He added: “Wimbledon have a board meeting on Wednesday and will make the final decision there. I am also involved in the bodies of the ATP and WTA [the sport’s governing bodies for men and women].
“The necessary decisions have already been made there and Wimbledon will decide to cancel on Wednesday. There is no doubt about it.
“This is necessary in the current situation. It is unrealistic to imagine that with travel restrictions in place that we have an international tournament where hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world would travel. Wimbledon was the only Grand Slam tournament many years ago predictive enough to insure itself against a worldwide pandemic, so that the financial damage should be minimised there.”
