AELTC Confident of Finishing Wimbledon on Time

Written by Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Monday July 8, 2024
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport

Wimbledon–Umbrellas and cover staff were the most important players during the rainy season.

Incessant rain has disrupted the Wimbledon schedule, but officials are confident that the rain will not prevent the completion of the Championships..

All England Lawn Tennis Club CEO Sally Bolton said today that while the rain delay has caused schedule challenges, the retractable roof over both the Center Court and No.

“Planning with the rain has been a unique challenge,” Bolton told about 10 reporters at a Q&A this morning. “The weather was changeable and bad at times.

“From a bigger picture perspective—we now have an extra day to have a 14-day tournament. We have two houses so in terms of fitness to go through to the Championships, we are confident that we can still do that.

“We have a variety of emergencies. Obviously putting a roof over the two show courts, that really helped. Having an extra day gave us that extra flexibility. As we announced yesterday in doubles, we are taking the first two rounds down to two sets and a tiebreak. So we have different ways we can look at emergencies to try to control our way of dealing with them.”

Can the grass court Grand Slam play some matches on hard courts if the daily rain continues?

Bolton, who succeeded Richard Lewis as CEO after the 2020 Games, he said turning to playing on hard indoor courts would be a “last resort” used only when all other options have been exhausted.

“Going in-house would be one of those options, but that would be a last resort,” Bolton said. “I think the real challenge for everyone is climate change. I'm very proud of the teams we've got working on the grounds. Trying to maintain the joy and excitement of the fans who come to the Championships when the rain is on and off is very difficult.

“And the field teams have worked hard to try to keep our visitor experience going…I think the team that deserves the most praise is the court staff, they got the corn this year.

“They did a great job. They worked very hard so I want to take this opportunity to say thank you. We need to try to give everyone who comes here the best experience we can.”

The team received help from seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic by one point.

When @DjokerNole he doesn't win center court matches, he helps with covers 😂#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/cFh90q5Qmd

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2024

Speaking to other players who slipped and fell on the grass, Bolton said “we have no concerns” about the playability and safety of Center Court and Court 1.

“The two show courts with roofs on the courts are very dry and the roofs haven't been opened much,” Bolton said. “We have no problem with the courts. We always find that, this is true in the field of grass, that in the first few days of The Championships, the grass itself is green.

“So you can see that the leaf has received more moisture because it is green.

As the court begins to age, it is obvious that it collapses and the courts dry up. That is the nature of the grass itself rather than any specific conditions due to wet weather.”