Are Wimbledon and traditions changing?

Wimbledon and tradition, tennis fans have heard this phrase too often. As the latest edition of The Championship cranks up, slowly, due to the rain, changes are here to see. In the good old days, not just the wooden racket era but also the graphite stage of playing tennis on grass, facing the elements was the biggest challenge.
With low bounce, a quick surface, vagaries of weather and not knowing how long the rain break would be, Wimbledon was suspense.

It’s easy to think, players go back to the locker rooms, sip tea, and read a book. Some like Tim Henman, the perpetual favorite of Britain, who came tantalizingly close to winning the title, did that. Sadly, for all the tea he sipped from cups, the Wimbledon trophy eluded him. Those days, rain breaks, when Henman played and Pete Sampras ruled, one did not know how long they would have to stay indoors.

The rain suspense was like intrigue, even though Wimbledon always had its own weather forecasting system. To be sure, part of the challenge in winning each match at Wimbledon was being ready not just game-wise to click on grass but to also be mentally ready. The start-stop-start stuff was irritating. If the player lost it in the mind, results were disastrous. At least, that’s the fate which was in store for Aussie Pat Rafter of ponytail fame and serve-and-volley skills.

Given the fact Aussies had a great run at Wimbledon in generations gone by, Rafter was the quintessential born-for-grass player. Sadly, in two editions, 200 and 2001, he was destroyed by Pete Sampras and then Goran Ivanisevic. For Rafter to not have won Wimbledon will always be part of sad history. Wimbledon changed, in many ways, after that.

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Age-old customs saw Novak Djokovic wiping the Centre Court

That’s why, today, three days of rain and a backlog of matches means tennis fans are stressed out! You cannot blame the Millenials, they never saw the beauty of rain and tennis on grass. It was an art, a bit of putting on the maestro act, turning into an artist of sorts. If you did not have the game, tennis wise and mental, you were buried! Once the retractable roof plan got the nod from the high priests at the All England Club, tennis changed.

There was more predictability for the big players who would be playing on the show courts. Centre Court, first, and the revamped Court No.1 got the retractable roof. Even if it poured in buckets, tennis on grass was played. It looks fine on TV but for players inside, it was a change and coping with altered conditions. You have to know how atmospheric conditions change tennis when the roof comes on. There is no natural air, the ventilation, and cooling can play havoc.

And, yet, as one saw, Novak Djokovic even had to use his towel to dry the baseline early on this week! It was a classic case of nature’s elements in elements, delaying a match. All those who find it tough to adjust their footwork on grass need to understand, this is the most natural surface. That the ankle-stiffening and knee-joint jarring hard courts are in vogue is a sign of changing times. These courts are, almost, maintenance-free.

But the damage they do on the human body is crazy. One cannot complain, though, for tennis on grass is such a short swing. Even before you realize, the season has passed. Use of more technology, change in the Slazenger ball heaviness, slowing down the surface and standardizing the bounce are new things in Wimbledon.

Wimbledon does however allow brands to enter the lawns at AELTC

What is also a bit new is how Wimbledon has agreed to tweak the all-white rule when it comes to ladies wearing panties. Players have spoken about it, expressed their thanks, glad that something personal in their lives has also been taken care of. That’s the dark side of it in a different sense. For those who grew up watching the most famous all-white Stan Smith grass-court shoes, which had pimples in the soles, will wonder how the current shoe makers have changed their technology.

It’s still essentially white, though, a few decades ago, punk Andre Agassi wanted to breach the code. Agassi was brash and bold, mercifully Wimbledon told him to fall in line. Whites were the order. Today, there is order as well as disorder. For, apart from the dress code, shoes, headbands, racket bags, and more, players also carry a second bag.

There is a limit on how many logos can be displayed since Wimbledon itself makes billions of Pound Sterling from their official merchandise. One guy who caught the eye, with a different duffel bag was Jannik Sinner. The 21-year-old Italian carried a bag with the Gucci monogram. Such a thing to be carried to Wimbledon’s courts was odd. Perhaps, it would have been more “in place” in the cabin luggage rack on a jet plane.

Did Jannik sin? Maybe, that would have been the thought, decades ago. Wimbledon is changing. They would have given an official email nod to Sinner for carrying such a strange bag on the court, in addition to his heavy tennis bag. These are the changes that will make you wonder if Wimbledon and tradition are inseparable. What’s your guess?

In case you missed it:

• “Not a serious major, too wrapped up in traditions” – Wimbledon management faces the heat from fans as Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas are stopped from finishing their match
• “He’s constantly blowing that back out” – Paula Badosa retires mid-match against Marta Kostyuk, fans blame boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas for her injury

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