Covid-19: Wimbledon gets £113m insurance soft landing

Wimbledon is set to receive a huge £113m pay-out after taking “pandemic insurance” for the last 17 years.

The 2020 tournament was cancelled this summer due to the spread of coronavirus.

It is the first time the famous tennis competition has been cancelled since World War Two, with the disease tearing the sporting calendar apart.

But organisers of Wimbledon have been preparing for an event like this for a long time.

Sport business reporter Darren Rovell posted on Twitter that the tennis tournament has been paying $2m a year into the insurance for the last 17 years, totalling $34m.

And it means Wimbledon will receive a pay-out worth $141m [£113m] for this year’s cancelled event.

The organisers confirmed Wimbledon’s cancellation at the start of April over fears of coronavirus.

A statement from AELTEC read: “It is with great regret that the Main Board of the All England Club (AELTC) and the Committee of Management of The Championships have today decided that The Championships 2020 will be cancelled due to public health concerns linked to the coronavirus epidemic. The 134th Championships will instead be staged from 28 June to 11 July 2021.

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“Members of the public who paid for tickets in the Wimbledon Public Ballot for this year’s Championships will have their tickets refunded and will be offered the chance to purchase tickets for the same day and court for The Championships 2021″ the oraganisers have assured.