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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday March 25, 2020

 
Wimbledon

Wimbledon is keeping all options on the table as it plans for an emergency board meeting next week.

Photo Source: Tennis Now

On the heels of Tuesday’s big news of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics being postponed, Wimbledon has released a statement regarding its place in the 2020 sports calendar. An emergency meeting of the All England Club’s main board has been scheduled for next week.

Tennis Express

“The AELTC can confirm that it is continuing a detailed evaluation of all scenarios for The Championships 2020, including postponement and cancellation, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak,” it said in a statement. “The AELTC has been contingency planning since January, working closely with the UK government and public health authorities to follow their advice and understand the likely impact of COVID-19 and the government’s emergency measures on The Championships, and our thoughts are with all those affected by this crisis at this time.”


Richard Lewis, Wimbledon’s Chief Executive made the following statement, which was released by the tournament.

“The unprecedented challenge presented by the COVID-19 crisis continues to affect our way of life in ways that we could not have imagined, and our thoughts are with all those affected in the UK and around the world. The single most important consideration is one of public health, and we are determined to act responsibly through the decisions we make. We are working hard to bring certainty to our plans for 2020 and have convened an emergency meeting of the AELTC Main Board for next week, at which a decision will be made.”

With the Olympics postponed, there may be a chance for the Championships to move later into the summer, but with so many unknowns and place needed for the US Open and Roland Garros now, it is difficult to project scenarios with any clarity as the Coronavirus continues to force governments to take extreme social distancing measures across the globe.

Wimbledon has already ruled out playing the event without spectators, and the tournament also hinted that postponing the event would also pose many difficulties.

"The very short window available to us to stage The Championships due to the nature of our surface suggests that postponement is not without significant risk and difficulty," the tournament said. "Playing behind closed doors has been formally ruled out."

The Grounds of the AELTC (including the Wimbledon Park Golf Club and Raynes Park) are currently closed with operations reduced to the bare minimum to maintain the grass courts and site security.

As of Wednesday there have been over 460,000 confirmed cases of Coronavirus worldwide, including over 8,000 in the United Kingdom.

 

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