For the first time since World War Two there will not be a tournament held for The Championships.
Below is the text from an email that was distributed by the All England Tennis Club to announce the news.
Dear Guest You will no doubt have heard the news yesterday that, with great regret, the Main Board of the All England Club (AELTC) and Committee of Management of The Championships took the difficult decision that the 134th Championships, due to be staged in 2020, will be cancelled and instead staged from 28 June to 11 July 2021. The highest priority in our decision making has been our regard for public health, and the wellbeing of all those who come together to make Wimbledon happen. Please refer to the detailed media announcement on wimbledon.com alongside a list of frequently asked questions. We appreciate that this news will have been received with great disappointment by all those looking forward to The Championships this year. We have been overwhelmed by the passion for Wimbledon expressed as a result of the announcement and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your understanding of these unique and unquestionably challenging circumstances. It is your love for The Championships that has shaped our event over the years, and will continue to do so. We are developing our plans to use the Wimbledon channels to showcase the best of The Championships over the years and do our best as much as possible to fill the gap left by no tournament this year as we also turn our attentions to preparing a fantastic Championships for 2021, so please do follow along across wimbledon.com and our social media platforms. If you are interested in attending The Championships 2021, we will be opening the registration process for the Wimbledon Public Ballot for 2021 in the autumn of 2020. With that in mind, we ask you to ensure that your email address remains up to date via your myWIMBLEDON profile so that we can continue to contact you. In addition to planning for The Championships 2021, our efforts will now be focused on contributing to the emergency response and supporting those affected by the coronavirus crisis. We have made contact with the local authorities in Merton and Wandsworth as well as the NHS to offer our facilities and whatever other assistance we can, including equipment, and we are distributing food supplies through our partnership with City Harvest. Through our charity, the Wimbledon Foundation, we are offering support within our local communities, and more broadly for the London and UK population through donations to the British Red Cross, the Foundation’s emergency response charity partner. We thank you for your continued support at this difficult time and hope you and your families remain safe and well. Kind regards, The All England Lawn Tennis Club |