Devastated, says Roger Federer as Wimbledon cancelled due to COVID-19

As the Wimbledon organisers on Wednesday (April 1) scrapped the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament for the first time since World War II due to coronavirus, eight-time champion Roger Federer said he was “devastated”.

Taking to Twitter, the former champion tweeted, “Devastated.”

Devastated https://t.co/Fg2c1EuTQY pic.twitter.com/cm1wE2VwIp

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) April 1, 2020

Serena Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon women’s singles champion, was also rocked by the news as the American tweeted, “I’m Shooked (sic)”.

Wimbledon was due to run for two weeks from June 29, with Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep set to defend their singles titles. But tournament chiefs bowed to the inevitable on Wednesday, saying in a statement that they had made the decision with “great regret”.

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 years Championships.” Halep tweeted her disappointment.

“So sad to hear @Wimbledon won’t take place this year,” she said. “Last years final will forever be one of the happiest days of my life! But we are going through something bigger than tennis and Wimbledon will be back! And it means I have even longer to look forward to defending my title.”

The decision to cancel the tournament was widely expected, with the world struggling to contain the spread of COVID-19, which has infected more than 840,000 people worldwide and killed over 40,000. It also prompted the ATP and WTA to cancel the grasscourt swing in the build-up to Wimbledon, meaning the tennis season will not now recommence until July 13 at the earliest. The US Tennis Association responded by saying the US Open was still due to take place as planned, from August 31 to September 13.

Organisers had earlier ruled out playing Wimbledon behind closed doors and postponing the event would also have created its own problems, with shorter days later in the English summer.

(With inputs from agencies)