Wimbledon has decided to offer prize money to the players. despite its cancellation this year due to the pandemic cornavirus. (Getty Images)
The 2020 Wimbledon championships look set to be cancelled
German Tennis Federation’s Dirk Hordorff has suggested that the 2020 Wimbledon Championships will be cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club officials announced that the Major would not be played behind closed doors nor postponed as there were some serious risks involved.
“Wimbledon has stated that they will have a board meeting next Wednesday and will make the final decision there,” said Hordorff while speaking to Sky Sports Germany.
The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics had opened up a July/August window for the organisation of the grass-court event. However, it seems hugely unlikely to take place then given the fact that Wimbledon has two covered courts and cannot be held past the summer.
Moreover, the French Open authorities had earlier stunned the tennis world by postponing the second Grand Slam event of the year from May to late September due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, the Big Three of tennis – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic face an uncertain future, now, with the most iconic Grand Slam tournament (Wimbledon) also soon to be called off.
This means that the three would now be left with only two Majors to work with later in the year. Having said that, let’s take a look at how the season could pan up for Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic in the coming days.
Swiss maestro Federer is currently undergoing self-isolation with his family at his home. He is also recovering from a right-knee surgery that he had undergone last month.
Federer was supposed to return to action by June ahead of the grass-court season, in time for his favourite tournament – Wimbledon.
However, it seems impossible now with the tournament soon to be called off. This means that Federer will have to wait for the next two Majors – the French Open and the US Open to lay his hands on another Slam.
Federer had stated that he would not be featuring in the clay-court season and be focussing on Wimbledon. Now, he is left with no choice but to compete at the other two Grand Slams after having fallen to fourth in the rankings.
The cancellation of the Wimbledon sets a new challenge for Spaniard Nadal. Nadal could count his blessings with his favourite event – the French Open getting postponed to September. He is a record 12-time winner at the red clay-court event.
Wimbledon has never been a happy hunting ground for the Spaniard having won just one title there so far. Also, Nadal is the defending champion at the US Open last year.
Currently ranked number two in the world, Nadal still has a chance to finish off as the top-ranked player by the end of the year with his two preferred Grand Slam events still on the cards. After Roland Garros, Nadal has won his greatest number of titles at the Flushing Meadows in US – four titles.
Djokovic has had the most successful outing of this year so far. The 32-year-old already bagged the Australian Open and climbed to the top of the world rankings.
He won his record eighth title in Melbourne and was looking forward to Wimbledon, where he emerged winner last time. However, the event’s cancellation puts Djokovic in a tough a spot with just the French Open and US Open remaining.
The 32-year-old will have to play his best tennis in the remaining Grand Slams to end the year as the top-ranked player. Last year, he progressed until the semis in France, losing to eventual runner-up Dominic Thiem. While at the US Open, he had an early Round of 16 exit at the hands of Swiss Stan Wawrinka.
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