Jamie Murray bracing for 2020 without tennis after Wimbledon cancellation
Jamie Murray is bracing himself for the prospect of no more professional tennis in 2020, after Wimbledon was called off yesterday.
Organisers at the All England Club announced that the tournament — due to be played between June 29 and July 12 — was to be cancelled for the first time since 1945.
And Murray, a two-time winner at SW19, warned even more events could follow suit in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. “With the way things are going, if someone was to tell me tomorrow there’s no tennis for the rest of the season, I wouldn’t be surprised,” said the Scot, “I’d be like, ‘Okay, fine, let’s get through this, let’s move on with our lives’.”
The professional men’s and women’s tours had already been put on hold until June and, as well as Wimbledon’s cancellation, the LTA also yesterday announced a complete halt to the upcoming grasscourt season.
In addition, the French Open has been shifted to the end of September, although yesterday organisers of the US Open, set for the end of August, said they “still plan to host the US Open as scheduled and we continue to hone plans to stage the tournament”.
But the US has seen a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases and Murray said: “First, you hear it’s a 12- to 16-week pandemic, then you hear of Wimbledon cancelled, so that takes you into August, with the US behind us with the virus.
"There’s so much to consider for events in terms of liability for people coming to their event and getting ill.
“I hang onto the hope there will be tournaments again in 2020 and think that’s probably the case, but if, say, we’re not allowed to play until October, you start to think, ‘What’s the point?’
"In a two-month season, there’s not too much benefit to that really for the risk, so you’d think, ‘Let’s bag it and everyone starts afresh in January’.”
Wimbledon is believed to be covered by insurance for a global pandemic, which costs the club £1million - but could lead to it pocketing more than £200m to cover broadcasting costs and other financial losses.
Of the prospect of no Wimbledon, Murray added: “It’s the focal point of the tennis calendar, so it’ll be really weird to not have it on.
“But these are extraordinary times. It’s most important everyone just works together to get through this.”
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