London (AFP)

The tennis circuit once again had to give in to the threat of the Covid-19 epidemic on Wednesday with the announcement of the outright cancellation of Wimbledon and the extension of the suspension of the season until July 13.

"It is with great regret that the All England Club Board of Directors and the (Tournament) Management Committee have decided that the 2020 edition will be canceled due to the public health risks associated with the coronavirus epidemic" , wrote the organizers of the oldest Grand Slam tournament.

Originally scheduled from June 29 to July 12, "the 134th edition of the tournament will take place from June 28 to July 11, 2021," they added.

It is the first time since World War II that Wimbledon will not take place, but this decision is anything but a surprise, given the vagueness that reigns around the date of resumption of the tests.

The ATP and the WTA have also announced at the same time a one-month extension of the suspension of the men's and women's professional tennis circuits until July 13.

A decision which results in de facto cancellation - except improbable postponement - of the whole season on lawn.

The Wimbledon organizers immediately ruled out the possibility of an in camera edition.

- Federer "devastated" -

Faced with the difficulty of finding a realistic niche, especially given the specifics of a grass and outdoor tournament, they preferred to take this drastic measure and a financial risk deemed acceptable.

The insurance taken out should enable the slate estimated at more than 200 million pounds (EUR 226 million) to be substantially amortized between the reimbursement of tickets and compensation for broadcasters, partners or sponsors.

As for the main players in the tournament, the players, they oscillate between shock and resignation.

"Devastated" commented Roger Federer laconically on his twitter account, above a "gif" (short video) claiming: "there is no gif to express what I feel".

At 38, the Swiss, 8 times winner and 4 times finalist of the event, sees one of the last opportunities to tread on the English turf fly away. "I can't wait to come back next year," he said on Instagram, which suggests he has no plans to retire without going back to Wimbledon.

The defending champion, the Romanian Simona Halep, is rather good luck against bad luck.

With the global epidemic of Covid-19, "We are going through something bigger than tennis and Wimbledon will come back!" Tweeted the global N.2, ending in a pirouette: "and that means that I will be able to wait even longer looking forward to defending my title. "

- A big hole in the calendar -

"It’s really hard to take (...) this tournament is such a piece of history that it will leave a big hole in the calendar", admitted Petra Kvitova (N.12), winner in 2011 and 2014 .

Paradoxically, the complete cancellation of the tournament will still be one less headache when it comes to trying to work out a schedule for the rest of the season.

Shortly after the announcement of Wimbledon, the organizers of the US Open, the usual last Grand Slam lift, said that they were still hoping, "for the moment", that the tournament would be held as scheduled from August 24 to September 13.

They would therefore exceptionally take place before Roland-Garros, the second Grand Slam event, traditionally organized in late May-early June, but which announced last month that it would be postponed from September 20 to October 4.

But the world of tennis, like the rest of the world of sport and beyond, is sailing visibly in the face of the pandemic.

"We will do everything we can to get the circuit back on track as soon as possible, as soon as we can do it safely," said former player and ATP president Andrea Gaudenzi in the press release. common ATP / WTA.

© 2020 AFP