Fate of this year's Wimbledon to be decided next week

LONDON - The All England Club said that they will decide wether to postpone or cancel this year's Wimbledon Championships next week after an emergency meeting.

The club, holding the oldest tennis tournament in the world, released a statement on Wednesday. It 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".

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 believed 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 between June 29-July 12. Earlier, another Grand Slam the French Open has decided to postpone this year's competition from May to September.