Pre-Wimbledon issue ‘Time’ for grass
View(s):European Tennis season has around 36 events in their spring/summer calendar. In fact, it is the livewire behind the popularity that Tennis enjoys globally. At present too few of it is on Grass courts. This year, only a mere 19-day slot was available for he Grass court season. Multiple Women’s Grand-Slam winner Chris Evert expressed a valid opinion asking for more time before Wimbledon for players to settle down on grass. Players treasure the Wimbledon title to be the pinnacle of achievement in their Tennis careers.
This year the biggest clay court championships – the French-Open ended on 10th June and the oldest Tennis tournament – the Wimbledon championships played on grass surface begins on 29th June. This means, the French-open had ten weeks of clay events from early spring numbering over 30 events for players to peak.
In contrast, the grass, on which Tennis came to being over one hundred years ago, gets only about four events and a meager 19 days for players to adjust to play Wimbledon. What more, after Wimbledon there are no more grass court events. Grass court demands changes in stroke making and tactics. In this situation some players may even say, why bother to adjust the game for grass. In the men’s professional circuit of the 64 Tennis events worldwide, only about five are on grass courts.
Practice issue
Few months ago, a can of very old unused tennis balls was opened by a veteran and it turned out to be ‘white’. A few players in their thirties saw the balls and were surprised and curious as to how he got them and why they were white. What most of the present day players will not know is that, originally Tennis balls were white. On the same note among the Tennis players today, less than five percent would have ever seen a grass court. Apart from England, only India and Pakistan still have grass courts in clubs, because of their colonial legacy. Colombo had two courts at the Queen’s club till about the end of 1970s’ and lost them due to the inability to maintain them.
Lack of grass courts poses the biggest issue to world ranked players when it comes to practice. There are about four grass events in England and one in Germany for players to adapt before the Wimbledon Championships. These tournaments do not permit more than 32 into their main draw. This means not everyone will get to play on grass. What more, grass courts permit very limited hours of play per week. For this reason, event organizers cannot be liberal in opening the grass courts for practice. Grass gets destroyed when used and it takes time to grow again and to be trimmed, making it fit to play.
Future of Grass
Angelique Kerber of Germany won the Birmingham WTA women’s event on grass, a week ago. One of her comments made me curious. She said that, the best thing that happened in the event was that she was able to get five practice matches. She treasured the practice more than winning the title because it prepared her better for Wimbledon. It shows how difficult it is to get grass court practice.
Wimbledon is the only Grand-Slam grass event and there will be 256 players in the two singles events and 64 in each of the three doubles events in addition to some age group events for juniors and veterans. Altogether a number close to 600 will play in Wimbledon this year. I feel some of them will play their first round matches only with Wimbledon practice court exposure. In this situation what is the fate of grass court Tennis?
Originally three of the four Grand-Slam events, the Australian-Open in Sydney, All England Championships in Wimbledon and the US-Open in Forest Hills, New-York were on grass surfaces. Australia and USA went away from grass courts and have opted to hard courts. Their Grand-Slam events are also their national championships. These countries did not want their national Championships played on a surface that is not available to their players freely countrywide. Today only the Wimbledon is on grass. For sure it will not change. Although finding a grass court in United Kingdom is not that easy, when it comes to practice in summer.New breed of grass
The escalating cost and complex maintenance of grass courts and above all, the very limited in number of hours of play it permits, has made the grass court a luxury, fit only for exclusive recreation. There are many clubs with grass courts in London. The only reason for their existence now is ‘tradition’. Cost and use wise, grass does not come out as the winner. From the Wimbledon earnings which could be a figure close to a billion pounds, English clubs are fostered to maintain the grass court tradition. Even with this, one has to search for a grass court to play and pay a high price for its use.
Wimbledon has modified the grass genetically and that has slowed the game and made the surface more resilient. This is why we still see ground stroke domination by players in Wimbledon. In the second week of the event, the courts in Wimbledon show gaping patches from wear and tear. As a traditional rule no changes can be made to the courts once the tournament begins. This means, in the final rounds players will have to adjust to grass and to the worn out patches of the court. It makes the court irregular and affects the bounce and speed significantly, making the challenge even greater.
Weather and Sir Cliff Richards
The notorious English weather often has not been very kind during Wimbledon. This two week event has often been extended into the third week liberally. With some prudence the All England Club built a new centre court with a retractable roof. It needs artificial light support when closed. Match scheduling wise, it is saving them in the second week when matches are a few. The first week is still at the mercy of the English summer rain. The organizers have effective surface covers with ventilating facilities that can keep the court dry and fit for play up to two to three days in case of bad weather. These are state-of-the-art technology in Tennis court construction today.
The modern facilities came to being only in the last one decade or so. Wimbledon like the Ascot Horse races gets a large VIP attendance. In the 90s when facilities were not up to present day standards and Martina Navratilova was dominating the women’s Tennis, in one Wimbledon, it rained for days, continuously. On one occasion, spectators in the centre court began to sing songs. It became a special event because the man, who was leading the sing song unaccompanied, with some prominent Tennis players, was none other than the English pop idol Sir Cliff Richards. At the end of the session he said ‘I never thought I will be performing at the Wimbledon centre court and without a band’.
Show will go on
Last week ‘evergreen’ Roger Federer won his eighth consecutive title in Halle, Germany; Andy Murray gave another ‘ray of hope’ to English Tennis when he won the Queen’s title in London; and Angelique Kerber took the Birmingham title in the three different grass court events.
I believe, Wimbledon will not change any part of the event regardless of the trends in the world. Wimbledon in Tennis is the standard by which other events are measured. As for the increase of grass court events, there is little possibility of the situation getting better. Two factors curtail its development. First is the limitation of time for events between the French-Open and the Wimbledon; and second, is the maintenance cost factor. Unless one is living in the United Kingdom or in a former British colony, players will ask ‘where is the grass’? Watch the 2015 Wimbledon which begins tomorrow!
George Paldano, former international player; Accredited Coach of Germany, National coach, Davis Cup and Federation Cup Coach; ITF and USPTR; –gptennis.ceylon@gmail.com-