After a wiped-out social season this year, 2021 is looking up. According to The Times, the Wimbledon Championships will go ahead next year, even if fans can’t be present to watch the on-court action.
Wimbledon 2020 was cancelled for the first time since the Second World War due to the pandemic but the All England Club are hoping to resume normality again by plotting to stage the annual tennis event behind closed doors if needed.
The All England Club announced the news it was cancelling the event this year just 12 weeks before the tournament was due to begin, which meant players such as Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep were unable to defend their singles titles.
Many top players are in favour of the event running again, even if it means playing without a crowd.
Andy Murray said in an interview during French Open first-round defeat on the weekend that he’d, ‘like to see Wimbledon go ahead regardless of whether there are fans or not,’ adding 'But we'll see what they decide. I think the events that have gone on so far, the ones I've been involved in, have been pretty successful.
‘I guess it would be up to the fans. If the fans are enjoying watching it and they are getting good TV ratings, then that would suggest people would still like to see tennis and watch the major events.
'For a player, it is not the same without fans, but I'd still way rather be playing the event than not, that's for sure.'
The Times reports that staging of the US Open and next year's French Open in May, as well as the Australian Open in January has helped persuade All England Club chiefs that running the event without a crowd is still an option.
There, however, might be some disappointment for anyone wanting to enter the Wimbledon 2021 ballot in the hope it will go ahead with a crowd. The event, scheduled for 28 June to 11 July, says in a statement on its website that those with tickets from this year’s ballot will be transferred to 2021, so they ‘will not be staging the Wimbledon Public Ballot for 2021.’
Keep your eyes peeled, though, as the website states, ‘The provision of any additional tickets for The Championships 2021 will be considered within our scenario planning.’
It’s expected that the famous SW19 club will net over £100m after this year's cancellation. The club made a wise move in updating their insurance policy in 2003, adding a virus-related clause following concerns over the SARS outbreak.