London (AFP)

After the postponement of Roland Garros at the end of September due to the epidemic of new coronavirus, it is the turn of Wimbledon to have to make a delicate but apparently inevitable decision, next week during an emergency meeting, which will undoubtedly condition the whole season on grass.

- Where is the reflection on a postponement or cancellation?

The men's (ATP) and women's (WTA) circuits are suspended until June 8, a date that would theoretically allow Wimbledon to take place three weeks later.

Tuesday again, Andrea Gaudenzi, the boss of ATP assured to be "in close discussion with all tournaments on grass and they remain for the moment on the calendar".

"It is a rapidly changing situation and there is no other option than to talk to each other day by day," he added.

He did not believe so well, since as early as Wednesday the organizers of Wimbledon announced an emergency meeting for next week which will study "all the scenarios, postponement and cancellation including".

One thing is certain: "Playing behind closed doors has been formally excluded," said the organizers.

Financially, the cost of a cancellation seems bearable for the British tennis federation, especially if the latter intervenes at the request of the government, because insurance would reimburse ticket holders.

- Is a postponement only possible?

The postponement of the Olympics to 2021 has lightened the summer calendar and offered room for maneuver for a possible postponement, but the window is not that wide open.

On the one hand because of the total uncertainty on the real duration of the crisis linked to the coronavirus, while it will take several weeks to get the tournament going.

In the event that the tournament starts on June 29, the first preparations within the All England Club grounds must start at the end of April, two months before.

Another problem, it would undoubtedly have to upset the order of tournaments, because playing Wimbledon after Roland-Garros, which is now scheduled from September 20 to October 4, seems illusory, if only on a meteorological level.

"The very thin window we have to organize Wimbledon because of our surface indicates that a postponement would not be without considerable risk and difficulty," the organizers admitted on Wednesday.

A question that will be valid for the entire season on lawn.

- And the players in all this?

The future of the tennis season is obviously a matter of concern and uncertainty for those whose only livelihood.

"I think the most important thing is to keep hope. There is nothing wrong with having hope. For me, it is above all a question of not looking too far into the future, we do not don't know how things will turn out, "British number one Johanna Konta (world No. 14), who is currently recovering from a knee injury, told the press.

"We know that we will not be playing until the beginning of June, this is the date we are working towards. When that changes, if it changes, we will react to what comes next, added the former semi-finalist in Australia (2016), Wimbledon (2017) and Roland-Garros (2019), which sits on the WTA Players Council.

Among men, the newspapers have witnessed differences of opinion between Novak Djokovic, president of the ATP Players' Council and supporter of an outright halt to the season, and Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer who wish to procrastinate, in particular for try to save the Rod Laver Cup, an exhibition tournament whose programming was shaken by the postponement of Roland-Garros.

"You would think that Roger (Federer) who has just had a knee surgery would say + I am going to withdraw from the circuit +. But he was one of the first to come forward to make sure that things moved and that decisions adapted be taken, "said Mark Knowles, member of the ATP board of directors at L'Express newspaper.

A Wimbledon cancellation would in any case be a major blow for the British players who benefit from a large part of the invitations to the tournament and the 45,000 GBP (50,000 EUR) guaranteed for losers in the first round.

© 2020 AFP