Laura Robson names the Wimbledon rule that should never change despite backlash
Former British No.1 Laura Robson has come out in support of Wimbledon's 11pm curfew after it drew criticism from players and tennis fans. Wimbledon is unlike the other Grand Slams, which often continue late into the night, because it has a strict rule that it will not budge on.
American star Taylor Fritz needed five sets to see off the big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a first-round match that left him fuming at Wimbledon's curfew. Fritz was taken off the court before the curfew, despite believing he had enough time to complete his match – and he nearly fell foul of the rule in the next round too.
Late finishes are ingrained in the culture of the US Open, Australian Open and French Open, but Wimbledon works differently. Play only starts at 11am on the outside courts and at 1.30pm on Centre Court and the 11pm curfew isn't about to be changed, despite moans every year from players who want to finish their matches and fans who are enjoying the action.
It came into effect in 2009 when the All England Club put a roof on Centre Court, with Merton Council keen to reduce the potential impact on local residents. That is quite right, according to Robson, who is now working as a pundit and commentator at Wimbledon.
'No. Wimbledon follows [Merton Council's] rules and it is what it is,' Robson told Metro when asked whether the 11pm curfew should be changed. 'Honestly, I think tennis has become way too much of a late night sport. Why are we playing at 2am? Why are we playing at 3am?
'It's not normal and no other sport does it. Sure, you want to have the opportunity to finish the match. If it's 10.30pm and you're going to be 15 minutes over, of course that makes sense.
'In general I think the sort of backlash of playing at 1am is a nightmare for all of the players involved, all of the staff involved, all of the ball kids involved. So yeah, I'd like to see less of that rather than getting rid of the curfew.'
Fritz was dragged off the court well before 11pm against Perricard and was bemused by the umpire's decision. 'It was more just like I felt like we had the time to play. I was mentally in the head space of, like, we are finishing this match tonight,' he said.
His US compatriot Ben Shelton was also irritated last week when bad light forced him off right at the end of his match against Rinky Hijikata. That was due to the darkness impacting the electronic line calling system, rather than the curfew.
"He had match point, didn't he?" tournament director Jamie Baker admitted the next day. "I would be pretty unhappy as well.'
Shelton himself understands the curfew. "I mean, it's tradition, I understand," he said. 'It's also in a neighbourhood. If it was in my neighbourhood and they're playing till 2 a.m. every single night and going completely ballistic, I'd be like, 'I probably don't really want to live here.' I completely understand the curfew, for sure."
The curfew is basically set in stone, although there is a little wiggle room for common sense. Back in 2012, when Andy Murray was 5-1 up against Marcos Baghdatis in the fourth set at 11pm, he was allowed to serve out the final game to wrap things up at 11:02.
'The 11pm curfew is a planning condition applied to balance the consideration of the local residents with the scale of an international tennis event that takes place in a residential area,' Merton Council have explained. 'The challenge of transport connectivity and getting visitors home safely is also a key consideration.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
9 minutes ago
- Telegraph
MPs to vote on making Premier League games free-to-air
MPs are to vote on a proposal to force the Premier League to make at least 10 games a season free-to-air by law. An amendment to the Football Governance Bill has been tabled by the Liberal Democrats, giving Parliament its first say on whether the world's richest league should remain entirely behind a paywall. A pledge to make at least 10 Premier League matches a season free-to-air was part of the Lib Dems' General Election manifesto but it failed to gain support from Labour and the Conservatives and there has been no sign of that having changed since. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer would therefore be able to use his large parliamentary majority to crush the proposal by Sir Ed Davey's party upon it being put to a vote of MPs on Tuesday. The amendment being tabled would also require the new Independent Football Regulator to ensure that the League Cup final and the English Football League's play-off finals were shown free-to-air. But the Lib Dems' primary target is the Premier League, for which virtually every match has been exclusively behind a paywall since its inception 33 years ago. Davey's party cited analysis that showed armchair fans would have to cough up £660 to watch every game next season under the competition's latest TV deals with Sky Sports and TNT Sports, as well as figures showing viewership on the channels fell 10 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, last term. It also pointed out that La Liga's partnership with streaming service DAZN included one free-to-air game a week. Max Wilkinson MP, Lib Dem spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport said: 'I'm urging MPs of all stripes to back our amendment to tear down the paywall and make Premier League games available on free-to-air channels. 'For too long, the jewel in the crown of British football has been locked behind an expensive barrier that keeps fans out while lining the pockets of broadcasters. 'Fans are being rinsed of every last penny to watch the beautiful game, while the next generation of Bellinghams and Bronzes are priced out of the chance to see football played at the very top level. 'That must end today – with a free-to-air revolution that gives the Premier League back to the country.' The Premier League declined to comment but Telegraph Sport has been told that making games free-to-air would inevitably reduce the value of its UK broadcast contract and put at risk some of the millions it redistributes within football and to other causes. This is a political football – free-to-air Premier League action is years away There have long been calls for the Premier League to make some of its matches free-to-air but MPs have never voted on a proposal to force it to do so by law. And before anyone gets carried away – including at the likes of the BBC or ITV – they should take note of the fact that Tuesday's vote has been orchestrated by the Liberal Democrats. Indeed, there has been no sign of the Lib Dems' amendment to the Football Governance Bill being backed by Labour or the Conservatives, both of whom have had plenty of opportunities in the last 33 years to do something akin to what Sir Ed Davey's party is proposing. Of course, the latter knows this and is doubtless using the issue as a political football weeks after England fans turned on Sir Keir Starmer during the country's World Cup qualifier against Andorra. Given the crises engulfing the Prime Minister over issues such as his botched flagship welfare reforms and cuts to winter fuel payments, painting him as the celebrity Arsenal fan who refuses to support making some Premier League games free feels like an open goal in the current climate. According to analysis cited by the Lib Dems, both Sky Sports and TNT Sports experienced a decline in Premier League viewership last season. At least part of that decline would have been down to illegal streaming, with Telegraph Sport chronicling earlier this year how many fans appeared to have shunned expensive subscriptions in favour of cheap modified Fire Sticks. With more Premier League matches than ever being shown live in the UK next season – 270 versus 200 – via one fewer broadcaster, executives at Sky and TNT will be hoping that represents increased value for money.
Telegraph
9 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Andy Murray blasts Wimbledon for closing roof during Sinner-Dimitrov match
Sir Andy Murray has hit out at the All England Club's roof policy, questioning why the later stages of Jannik Sinner's match against Grigor Dimitrov could not have been played in the open air. As it happened, the match never reached completion, because a pectoral injury forced Dimitrov to retire. But Murray's point was that Dimitrov – who led by two sets to zero when the decision was taken – was on track to close out a famous victory well before the light was due to fail. 'So ridiculous to close the roof at this stage of the match,' Murray posted on X. 'At least an hour of light left… well over a set of tennis can still be played... it's an outdoor tournament!' Murray's criticism, which was posted when the roof closed at around 8.30pm, continues a trend of controversy around decision-making at this tournament, even if this was a very different type of call to the line-judging debates we have heard in recent days. A two-time Wimbledon champion, Murray has been promised a statue on the grounds by the summer of 2027 – the 150th anniversary of the Championships. His argument on the roof was supported by BBC pundit John McEnroe, who said: 'They should have played a third set [before closing the roof] because there was 45 minutes to an hour left.' But Tim Henman, another BBC pundit who is also a senior figure at the AELTC, was more equivocal. 'I don't think [they could have played a whole set before nightfall] on Centre Court,' said Henman. 'Outside it will be brighter but inside there is less light so they probably could have played six games, get to sort of quarter to nine, then it gets dark. But they try to shut the roof at a convenient time.' The AELTC's roof policy has changed noticeably over the years, with the initial instruction to referees being to keep it open unless there was absolutely no alternative. These days, we see a more proactive approach in which the primary goal is to avoid an awkward hiatus at a tense moment of play. The roof mechanism takes around 10 minutes to complete the closure, but there is usually a further two or three-minute delay while the players warm up again after the break. Meanwhile, giant fans flood the arena with dry air to prevent the humidity from climbing too high. With 15,000 Centre Court spectators all breathing water vapour into a closed space, the grass would otherwise become dangerously slippery. Wimbledon's policy is that, if artificial lighting is required, it can only be used under a closed roof on Centre or No 1 Courts. Continuing after nightfall also risks the players' safety because of dew. If there is a danger of the roof needing to be closed during a match, or even a set, the referee – who is now Denise Parnell – tends to take the initiative and make the decision early. Murray's former coach Brad Gilbert was another observer who remarked upon the closure. His post on X stated that 'this is day 8 @Wimbledon and the 7th time this tournament will finish under roof, not for rain because of long matches, never seen this happen before.' As Gilbert implied, matches are becoming longer, which begs the question of why the AELTC does not start play on Centre Court earlier than 1.30pm. When responding to this enquiry in previous years, the club has cited the danger of the grass wearing out under the stress of longer hours of play, as well as the need to give spectators from further afield enough time to arrive for the start. There is also a theory that the BBC enjoys having plenty of live play to televise in the evening, when its audience figures are highest.
The Guardian
11 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Sinner fortunate to reach quarter-finals as Dimitrov retires injured leading by two sets
If Jannik Sinner goes on to win his first Wimbledon title this weekend, he will look back on this moment as the time when his luck turned. The world No 1 was trailing two sets to love – 6-3, 7-5, 2-2 – against an inspired Grigor Dimitrov, with a mountain to climb, when the Bulgarian hit an ace and then instantly fell to the ground clutching his pectoral muscle. He knew, there and then, that his Wimbledon was over and after a brief medical timeout, off the court, he returned in tears, before shaking Sinner's hand. The Italian goes through to a quarter-final against Ben Shelton, the big-serving American who advanced to the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time with an entertaining four‑set win against Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. It was not, of course, the way Sinner wanted to go through, but he lives on and maybe now he will believe the tennis gods are on his side. 'I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness,' the world No 1 said. 'He has struggled in grand slams with injuries a lot so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. We all saw by his reaction how much he cares about the sport and he is one of the hardest working players on tour. This is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad. Seeing him in this position – if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. I hope he has a speedy recovery.' It was brutal on Dimitrov, who had hit 36 winners, controlling the match in every way, but the incident means he has now pulled out through injury in each of the past five grand slam tournaments. Ironically, it was Sinner who seemed to be struggling physically early in the match, rubbing his right elbow at times and later, early in the second set, taking a time‑out of his own. The 34-year-old Dimitrov was playing the tennis of his life at that point, dominating Sinner with brilliant serving – he lost just eight points on first serve in the entire match – beautiful slices, that took the Italian out of his comfort zone on arguably his worst surface. Dimitrov had been to the quarter‑finals only once before, in 2014, the year he beat Andy Murray on the way to the last four. But for two and a bit sets, he was right at his very best. Some of his volleys were Roger Federer-like and even the great man, watching in the royal box, approved. Dimitrov has always had an abundance of talent, more options than most players, so many choices at his hand, and Sinner was forced into a series of uncharacteristic errors. The Bulgarian broke in the second game on his way to a 3-0 lead in the first set and maintained the lead to take the set. Another early break put him in charge in the second but Sinner looked to have turned it around when he broke back for 5-5. Dimitrov broke again to move ahead and served out to double his lead. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion The roof was closed at the end of the second set, something Sinner would have been happy with, taking away the wind that had made life difficult. At 2-2, the drama happened. Dimitrov began the game serving and volleying, as he had done many times before, and hit his 14th ace, only to fall to the court immediately, clutching his right pectoral muscle. The pain was clear for everyone to see. Sinner came straight to his aid but it was obvious, even then, that nothing could be done. When he returned, Dimitrov was in tears and had to be helped from the court. Shelton will present a big challenge too after coming through another hugely entertaining clash with Sonego. The pair produced magic, as they always do and, as has usually been the case, it was Shelton who came out on top to reach the quarter-finals here for the first time. The left-handed Shelton, who has made the semi-finals of the US Open and Australian Open, served rockets, carved angles and slashed winners all over the place as he claimed a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 7-5 victory. It is 25 years since an American man – Pete Sampras – last won the title here, and the way Shelton plays makes him a threat.
