LONDON: Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the All England Club has said that they will decide whether to postpone or cancel this year's Wimbledon Championships next week after an emergency meeting.
The club in a statement on Wednesday confirmed that "it is continuing a detailed evaluation of all scenarios for The Championships 2020, including postponement and cancellation, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak".
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An emergency meeting is scheduled for next week and "in preparation we are communicating closely with the LTA, and with the ATP, WTA, ITF and the other Grand Slams. The build for The Championships is due to begin at the end of April".
The club also stated that they have a very short window available to stage the Championships "due to the nature of our surface suggests that postponement is not without significant risk and difficulty". Besides, playing behind closed doors has been formally ruled out.
This year's Wimbledon competition is scheduled to be held between June 29-July 12. The French Open has already decided to postpone this year's competition from May to September in the wake of coronavirus which has claimed over 10,000 lives across the world so far.