Centre Court
Encyclopedia
- Centre Court is also a generic British EnglishBritish EnglishBritish English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
term for the main courtTennis courtA tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
at any tennis complex.
Centre Court is the main court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
at the Wimbledon Championship
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, the 3rd annual Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar. It is situated adjacent to Aorangi Terrace and is home to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club , also known as the All-England Club, based at Aorangi Park, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam tennis event still held on grass...
. Its only regular use is for the two weeks a year that the Championships take place, but it is arguably the most famous tennis venue in the world. Centre Court has a premier box that the Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
uses, as well as other distinguished guests, and is also known by its postcode SW19.
A retractable roof was installed in 2009, enabling play to continue during rain. Centre Court will also host the tennis competition
Tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics
The tennis competitions of the 2012 Summer Olympics are scheduled to be staged at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, from 29 July to 5 August 2012. 172 tennis players are expected to compete in five events; singles and doubles for both men and women and for the first...
at the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
along with No. 1 Court and No. 2 Court
No. 2 Court (Wimbledon)
No. 2 Court is a tennis court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London. Unlike the other three Grand Slam events, Wimbledon does not name its main courts after famous players, choosing instead to use numbers, with the exception of Centre Court.-Old No...
.
Background
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The court suffered from bomb damage during World War II when five 500lb bombs hit the Centre Court during an air attack in October 1940. 1,200 seats in the stadium were destroyed and although play resumed on time after the war in 1946, the court wasn't fully repaired until 1949.
The original roof for the centre court from 1922 has been modified several times. In 1979, it was raised by one metre to allow the capacity to be increased by 1,088. Further building work came in 1992 with a replacement of the roof and a modified structure which allowed 3,601 seats to have a clearer view of the court which had previously been restricted by the number of roof supports.
Retractable roof
A retractable roof is a kinetic architectural element used in many sports venues, in which a roof made of a suitable material can readily be mechanically deployed from some retracted or open position into a closed or extended position that completely covers the field of play and spectator areas...
for the stadium and building work began with the removal of the existing roof at the end of the 2006 championships.. There was no roof for the 2007 event and fixed part of the new construction was visible the following year. The completed retractable roof structure was ready for the 2009 Championships
2009 Wimbledon Championships
The 2009 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, from Monday 22 June through to Sunday 5 July 2009...
, being unveiled in April 2009 and tested with a capacity audience during an exhibition match on 17 May 2009, featuring Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
, Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
, Tim Henman
Tim Henman
Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the...
, and Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
(returning from retirement).
Capacity has been increased to 15,000 by adding six rows of seats to the upper tier on the east, north, and west sides. New media facilities, scoreboards including video, and commentary boxes were built to replace those currently in the upper tier. New wider seats were installed and new additional stairs and lifts were added.
Retractable roof
The retractable roofRetractable roof
A retractable roof is a kinetic architectural element used in many sports venues, in which a roof made of a suitable material can readily be mechanically deployed from some retracted or open position into a closed or extended position that completely covers the field of play and spectator areas...
that has been operational since 2009 takes up to 10 minutes to close, during which time play will be suspended. A further delay will occur whilst the air management system recreates an outdoor atmosphere. The tournament rules for the Wimbledon championships dictate that once the roof has been closed it must remain closed until the end of the match. This leaves the possibility that matches may be completed indoors even though the sun is shining outside.
The roof was closed for the first time during a competitive Championships match at about 4:40 pm on Monday 29 June 2009, during the fourth round Ladies Singles match between Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
and Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
The first full match to be played with the roof closed was a men's singles fourth round match between British player Andy Murray and Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...
. Play on centre court had never gone past 9.17 pm, but with the roof closed and the floodlights on, the match was able to be completed after dark – at 10.38 pm. Merton Council
London Borough of Merton
The London Borough of Merton is a borough in southwest London, England.The borough was formed under the London Government Act in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton and Morden Urban District, all formerly within Surrey...
's environmental chief David Simpson said after Murray's late night win that late night tennis would not cause any problems. However, when the record late finish was surpassed in 2010 during a match between Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
and Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
which ran until 10.58 pm it was reported that Merton council had imposed a curfew of 11 pm BST
British Summer Time
Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
on Centre Court.
The roof was mobilised by SCX Special Projects Ltd, who also undertake all the planned preventative maintenance to ensure it continues to operate efficiently.
Inscription
There is an inscription above the entryway to Centre Court which reads "If you can meet with triumph and disaster / And treat those two imposters just the same" – lines from Rudyard Kipling'sRudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
poem If— .
External links
- Centre Court Long-term plan features time-lapse video of the construction work
- Information about Wimbledon Centre Court and a Photo Gallery
- New Centre Court Retractable Roof Key facts and project specification