London: Wimbledon was cancelled on Wednesday because of the coronavirus pandemic, the first time since World War II that the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament won’t be played.
The All England Club announced after an emergency meeting that the event it refers to simply as The Championships is being scrapped for 2020.
All England Club chairman Ian Hewitt said the decision had not been taken lightly.
"It has weighed heavily on our minds that the staging of The Championships has only been interrupted previously by world wars," he said.
"But, following thorough and extensive consideration of all scenarios, we believe that it is a measure of this global crisis that it is ultimately the right decision to cancel this year's Championships."
Wimbledon was scheduled to be played on the club’s grass courts on the outskirts of London from June 29 to July 12.
Instead, the next edition of the tournament will take place from June 28 to July 11, 2021.
The cancellation of the only grasscourt major at the All England Club leaves the season in disarray, with no tennis due to be played until mid-July. "Devastated," tweeted eight-time champion Roger Federer.
The tournament was first held in 1877 and has been contested every year since, with the exception of two stretches: from 1915-18 because of World War I, and from 1940-45 because of World War II.
It now joins the growing list of sports events scrapped completely in 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Wimbledon's 2019 men's singles title winner Novak Djokovic
That includes the Tokyo Olympics which have been pushed back 12 months.
Wimbledon is the first major tennis championship completely wiped out this year because of the coronavirus. The start of the French Open was postponed from late May to late September.
As of now, the U.S. Open is still scheduled to be played in New York from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13.
