Wimbledon financially stable but could have trouble renewing insurance

British tennis won't experience a significant funding impact as a result of Wimbledon not being held this year, according to the CEO of the All England Club (AELTC).

The tournament's insurance included cancellation for a pandemic, reported to be up to £100 million. The AELTC, which is in charge of Wimbledon, gives most of its profit to the LTA, the sport's national governing body, amounting to £45 million in 2019.

"We’re still in a very good position," CEO Richard Lewis was quoted as telling British press the day before the tournament would have been scheduled to begin. "We're financially very stable. I’m optimistic that the surplus will be pretty protected, and therefore the impact will be somewhat minimized."

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Such insurance, though, appears unlikely to be offered for a little while, yet Lewis said it should be "fairly soon" before similar policies are sold again. "The market returns," he said. Lewis insisted that will not affect whether the tournament is played next year, and also indicated organizers were willing to hold the tournament with no fans if necessary.

Having insurance was not what prompted the All England Club to cancel the event, Lewis added. "It genuinely wasn’t relevant this year. If we could have staged the Championships in some shape or form, then we would have done."

It is the first time since 1945 that the tournament has not been played. All tour competition has been suspended for more than three months, and is scheduled to return August 3 with a WTA event in Palermo.