For decades, there have been complaints that the tennis season — sprawled across continents and different surfaces — is far too long. In this eerie and tragic year, it has quickly become far too short.

The biggest blow to the sport came Wednesday when the leaders of Wimbledon, the oldest Grand Slam tournament and a cultural institution in Britain, announced that the event would not be held in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m Shooked,” Serena Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion, said on Twitter as she absorbed the news and its implications.

This is unquestionably a shaky period for the world and for the games it enjoys watching. Though sports have rightfully receded during the outbreak, it is still a jolt to the system to realize that there will be no Wimbledon this year — no chance of another classic final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic; no possibility for Williams to return to the singles final and win to tie Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles; no servings of strawberries and cream; no opportunity for the next generation of talents to step onto the meticulously tended grass of the All England Club and prove that they belong.