Trad Wimbledon stays the course amid schedule shakeups

Traditional Wimbledon will stand firm as the last four Grand Slams played over 14 days after the US Open change to a 15-day format.

The American scheduling move mimics the Australian Open and Roland Garros and is generally considered a path to some free money, given strong public demand for the big-match tennis product.

But Wimbledon committee member Tim Henman has told British media that the All England Club won’t be following suit and will keep its event running for the usual two weeks.

The four-time semi-finalist at his home major explained the simple technical reason for sticking with tradition.

It’s all about keeping the delicate Centre Court grass courts in top condition over the full length of the event. Until 2022, Wimbledon lasted only 13 days with the middle Sunday of the fortnight used to prepare the main courts for the Weeks 2 onslaught of play..

“Centre Court is the one that gets played on the most because it’s used every day,” the former player said.

“And to have it in the best possible condition for the final weekend, it was a big decision to go to 14 days.

“So all the research and data around that, you’re looking at 80 hours of tennis on Centre Court. That’s the sort of maximum optimal amount of time.

“It was a big decision to go to 14 days and that has worked well. So I think the appetite to go 15 days is zero. First and foremost because of the courts.”

Henman also said that the innovative player pod boxes placed on either end of  the Laver court put into place this year by the Australian Open would be a no-go at Wimbledon.

“On the outside courts at Wimbledon, you can do the same thing… (but) on the show courts, it won’t happen because you’ve got the player box, the family box.