Wimbledon cancellation is heartbreaking - wheelchair tennis players rely on that money

The idea of no Wimbledon this year is so hard to get my head around. Even if you do not like tennis, everyone knows when Wimbledon is on and tunes in, even just to watch a little bit. It is so traditionally British but it appeals to so many.

I understand the decision but it does not make it any less heartbreaking for all those people who work there, the fans and then us athletes. I am not alone in saying it is my favourite tournament of the year.​

During that fortnight, you book a hotel but you may as well have booked a random bed. You sleep there but you do everything else at Wimbledon. You shower there, all of your clothes are always in your locker ready, you eat there, there are the player areas, childcare facilities, even a hairdressers and nail salon.​

There is such a great atmosphere. I have a lot of happy Wimbledon memories, winning four doubles titles, including my last in 2017 while pregnant with my son Jackson. I even got engaged at Wimbledon.​

I was really looking forward to this year and was in good shape too. To now only potentially play one more Wimbledon before retiring is hard to take.​

There is talk of Wimbledon having the foresight to take out insurance policies against losses, and that will hopefully help the Lawn Tennis Association, who receive money from the event each year. If the LTA is struggling financially and it has to cut budgets or jobs, that is going to have a knock on effect on athletes.​

A lot of athletes are concerned about their financial situation, especially the wheelchair athletes who rely a lot on grand slam prize money.​

It is a very strange time right now and having no Wimbledon this year sadly just adds to that feeling.