Tennis: Wimbledon Canceled Until 2021

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Another sporting event has been canceled due to coronavirus. The Open Championship, or British Open, was canceled and the course that was hosting it has rescheduled for 2021. The next event to cancel is a major event in England and that is Wimbledon. This is one of the major tournaments in the game of tennis and takes place at the All England Club. Most of the sporting events around the world have been postponed or canceled. This is the first time since World War II that it will not take place. I know that many people including myself get up early and watch it on ESPN. Most of the time I will watch both of the finals. It is one sporting event that I want to attend in person one day. This will affect the tennis season but I know there is much more to be concerned about.

The tournament was scheduled from June 29th to July 12th. This is a festival with many people which include players, staff, media members, fans, etc. With the virus spreading so quickly, it would be hard to have that many people in the area. It takes two weeks to get everything put together to have the tournament. When the United Kingdom shut down it would nearly impossible to follow social distancing with all the people that are part of Wimbledon. Two of the most successful players that have played in the tournament in Roger Federer and Serena Williams were the focus. They are both 38 years of age and now they will have one less chance to win another Wimbledon. Williams feels sick but said that we need to respect sporting events because we don’t know when things like this will occur.

The chairman of the All England Club, Ian Hewitt, said the decision to cancel Wimbledon was not taken lightly. He also added that we did this with the highest regard for public health and well being of those that make the tournament a great part of the sporting world. As I said earlier, Wimbledon is a major in tennis, the third of the year. It follows the Australian Open in January and the French Open in May. They are trying to move the French Open from May to September. That would be just a week after the US Open. The surface is grass and is only visible during the spring and summer which means that later in the year it would not work for the tournament. So it was hard to reschedule because of the grass surface. It probably will not be the only major in tennis canceled.

The world is upside down with the coronavirus and many aren’t concerned about sporting events. As a sportswriter we do and it sucks to see events like this one canceled. We have no end in sight with the virus. All we can do is hope that a vaccine is being created and stay safe. Until then, we will have to wait for Wimbledon to come back next year. I know I can’t wait for it.