TENNIS

I soon began to wonder what was the deal with this sport -- and why were people becoming so obsessed with it?

NEW YORK Top-seeded Novak Djokovic was defaulted from his fourth-round match at the U.S. Open after he accidentally hit a line judge with a tennis ball Sunday. Djokovic had just lost a game to his opponent, Pablo Carreno Busta, to fall behind 6-5 in the first set. As he walked to the sideline for the changeover, Djokovic smacked a ball behind him. The ball hit a female line judge, who dropped to her knees at the back of the court. After a discussion of several minutes with officials on court, Djokovic walked over to shake hands with Carreno Busta, and the default was announced.

Of course, both were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it does lead to one question: Why were both events outright canceled and not simply postponed? Theres a two-pronged answer as to why Wimbledon and the British Open wont take place in 2020: Insurance money and incredible foresight. Just like the AELTC, the R&A had an insurance policy protecting against a global pandemic, and the British Open was reportedly the most insured of all the tournaments, according to Golf Digest. Unlike Wimbledon, it is unclear what the insurance payout was for canceling the British Open. It was the first time since 1945, when World War II was in its final stages, that Wimbledon and the British Open werent played in the same year.

FILE - In this Thursday, June 21, 2018 file photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II arrives on the third day of the Royal Ascot horse race meeting, which is traditionally known as Ladies Day, in Ascot, England. Queen Elizabeth II will not be attending the Royal Ascot horse racing meeting for the first time during her 68-year reign. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland, File)LONDON Nothing has kept Queen Elizabeth II away from the Royal Ascot horse racing meeting during her 68-year reign as U.K. monarch not pregnancy, a speech to Parliament or even an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. But this year, the 94-year-old queen will not be attending Royal Ascot, which starts Tuesday, because of the coronavirus pandemic. Unlike Wimbledon and the Open, Royal Ascot has not been canceled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, though spectators will be absent.