Halep expresses sadness at cancellation of Wimbledon amid COVID-19

Romanian tennis player and defending champion Simona Halep stated that she was "sad to hear" about the cancellation of Wimbledon 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Halep won her maiden Wimbledon title last year as she stunned Serena Williams 6-2, 6-2 in the finals.

Taking to Twitter Halep wrote, "So sad to hear @Wimbledon won't take place this year. Last year's final will forever be one of the happiest days of my life! But we are going through something bigger than tennis and Wimbledon will be back! And it means I have even longer to look forward to defending my title."

This is the first time that Wimbledon has been cancelled since World War II. The tournament was slated to begin on June 29. Earlier, the French Open was postponed to September.

"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," AELTC said in a statement on Wednesday.

The United Kingdom has reported 563 deaths in a day, bringing the total number of patients in the country who died in hospitals to 2,352. Some 29,474 people have now tested positive, a jump of 4,324 over the previous day, according to Al Jazeera.