London (AFP)

Faced with an inextricable situation linked to the epidemic of Covid-19, the 2020 edition of the Wimbledon tournament, scheduled from June 29 to July 12, should be purely and simply canceled on Wednesday.

"These are not rumors: they will announce the cancellation," said vice-president of the German tennis federation Dirk Hordorff on Monday, adding that the announcement would be made on Wednesday.

A scenario which seems "inevitable", also writes the BBC Tuesday, even if the final decision returns to All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, organizer of the prestigious tournament on lawn.

After intensive consultations with the English federation (Lawn Tennis Association), ATP and WTA, the impasse seems obvious.

With an opening scheduled for June 29, the English Grand Slam cannot wait any longer before making a decision. Because the first preparations within the All England Club grounds had to start almost two months before the first matches.

A strong consensus had already been made around the rejection of a tournament disputed behind closed doors.

All that remains is the possibility of a postponement or the more radical possibility of outright cancellation for this season.

But postpone when? If the resumption of the tennis season remains fixed for the moment on June 8 for the male and female circuits, this remains a very theoretical date in the face of an epidemic whose evolution remains still uncertain.

The postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games to next year did offer a few weeks of extra beat.

But Roland-Garros had before that cut the grass under the foot of the largest grass tournament in the world by drawing the first to reprogram from September 20 to October 4.

A gesture that still does not happen in the world of tennis.

"What President Bernard Giudicelli did was disgusting. For tennis, for France," said Dirk Hordorff.

- "Drawing a line under 2020" -

True to legendary British phlegm, the Wimbledon organizers were careful not to overwhelm anyone, but they warned last week that a postponement would be "not without considerable risk and difficulty".

"I think it is complicated for them to postpone the tournament because they risk colliding with other tournaments still scheduled," noted Jamie Murray who hoped to play the London tournament in doubles with his brother Andy.

The particularities of the tournament - turf is by far the most fragile of surfaces - and meteorological considerations have finished making the situation inextricable.

"We can possibly play Roland-Garros in September or October, not Wimbledon because of the grass which would be too wet", Dirk Hordorff explained on Monday.

"There are other things like just the length of the days" that can block for an open competition, said, meanwhile, Jamie Murray, 34.

"Each week that passes, we have a little less sun to play the matches. Generally we play until 9 or 10 pm every day at Wimbledon," he added.

The organizers and the federation had also made their accounts as of last week and made it understood that, financially, the cost of a cancellation seemed bearable insofar as insurances should make it possible to reimburse the ticket holders.

The likely cancellation of Wimbledon will be part of a chaotic exercise. To the point that the French Amélie Mauresmo, victorious at Wimbledon in 2006, estimated Tuesday "that we will have to draw a line under the 2020 season" ...

© 2020 AFP