Wimbledon allows practice on centre court for the first time to curb ‘dangerous accidents’ like Serena Williams’ first-round injury in 2021
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Wimbledon 2022 is approaching and the players gear up for the oldest and one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments. Even though the Wimbledon has been stripped of its ranking points due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, the tournament is still expected to be as grand as ever, with an increased prize fund. Wimbledon is a premier grass-court tournament and with the nature of the surface, there are certain challenges that are unique to the Championships.
Since the grass is hard to maintain, the frequent usage of the courts wears down the grass and changes the nature of the court. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam, which didn’t allow the pre-tournament practice on its showpiece courts for the players. But since the grass is more prone to moisture, the slips on the grass court sometimes cause serious injuries. The moisture on the grass is the main culprit behind this fiasco.
Wimbledon has allowed practice on centre court this year.
Many players had complained about the slippery nature of grass, including Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. Williams was injured in the first round of Wimbledon 2021 as she slipped and lost her footing. It was a tragic and unfortunate end to the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s Wimbledon campaign. Talking about the slips on the surface, Djokovic said: “I don’t remember falling this many times on the court.” Andy Murray said it was “extremely” slippery, and it was “not easy to move out there.”
Though the Wimbledon has paid heed to the requests to the player’s grievances from 2021, the AELTC issued the statement saying, “The preparation of the grass courts has been to exactly the same meticulous standard as in previous years.” But they have also allowed players “limited practice” on the two main courts for the first time so that the grass could be a bit used, worn and less moist, and players less likely to suffer injuries.
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Prateek Sinha
(365 Articles Published)