London, April 3 (IANS): All England Club chief executive Richard Lewis said that it is no longer unrealistic to say that there may be no more tennis this year. Speaking a day after Wimbledon got cancelled for the first time since the Second World War, Lewis said that he is hopeful that the US Open and the French Open, which was rescheduled earlier, can take place but it is a difficult situation at the moment.
"Who knows what will happen over that period?" Lewis was quoted as saying by The Guardian. "It's a challenge for everybody. Let's hope the US Open and Roland Garros [rescheduled to start a week after the conclusion of the US Open] can take place. It would be genuinely wonderful if the sport was off and running again.
"The optimist in me -- and I am often not optimistic -- still hopes the American hard-court season, the big tournaments, the Masters and the Premiers, will take place: Montreal, Toronto and then Cincinnati. But we all know that's probably tenuous at the moment.
"I don't think it's unrealistic to say that there may be no more tennis this year. But I would like to think that things will settle down so that tournaments can be played sooner rather than later."
The tennis season has been frozen since last month due to the global outbreak of coronavirus which has killed over 50,000 people around the world thus far. While the Wimbledon has been cancelled altogether, the French Open has been rescheduled to take place from September 20 to October 4.