Tennis: Wimbledon 2021 may be closed to live audiences

By Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Next year's Wimbledon Tennis Championships may be held behind closed doors next year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the organizers of the event announced Friday.

Sharing three possible scenarios, the AELTC said the tournament could either be a full-capacity event, a reduced-capacity tournament, or else be held closed to live audiences.

These options are dependent on the status of government and public health guidelines, the organization added in an online statement.

"Staging The Championships in 2021 is our number one priority and we are actively engaged in scenario planning in order to deliver on that priority," Sally Bolton, Chief Executive at Wimbledon was quoted by the statement as saying.

"We recognise how important the player communities are to the delivery of a COVID-secure Championships, and I am delighted to have Jamie Baker's support in his expanded role as Head of Professional Tennis and Tournament Director," she added.

Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments held every year, along with the Australian Open, the French Open (Roland Garros) and the US Open.

This year's Wimbledon, also known as The Championships, has been canceled in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.