Latest news with #AllEnglandTennisClub
Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Raducanu 'comfortable and safe' after stalker blocked from attending Wimbledon
Emma Raducanu was reduced to tears in Dubai after she was followed to four successive tournaments with the man then attempting to buy tickets to Wimbledon despite a restraining order Emma Raducanu has praised Wimbledon organisers after blocking her stalker from buying tickets. The British tennis star was at the heart of a terrifying ordeal earlier this year as a result of the man. He had followed her to four successive tournaments before handing her a letter and asked for a photo in a coffee shop. He was since handed a restraining order but ignored that instruction as he attempted to buy tickets for this year's championships at the All England Tennis Club. But the organisation's security system alerted authorities that his name had been red-flagged and blocked his attempt to buy tickets as a result. Raducanu has now spoken out and has hailed the added security. "Wimbledon and everyone did an amazing job. I got a notification, the police contacted me and told me everything was OK," Raducanu said to BBC Sport. "I know that I am not the first athlete to go through this, and I probably won't be the last - not just as an athlete, but females in general. It's just something that we all have to deal with at some point. " 'I feel okay, I feel comfortable, I feel safe. I've had great protection whenever I have been at these events recently," she added. "I have a lot more protection around me - especially the ones here in the UK, where it's busy and there's more spectators around. I feel a difference, and that reassures me and makes me feel more comfortable.' Away from her own ordeal, Raducanu also praised fellow Brit Katie Boulter. She recently spoke out on the barrage of online abuse that she regularly receives and called on social media websites to take more action - a demand that Raducanu fully agrees with. Who will win Wimbledon this year? Share your predictions in the comments below "I'm glad Katie spoke out about it because it is something that we all go through," she said. "I try and not to read the comments or look at the messages because it makes you upset. "It doesn't matter how many positive comments you read, you are always going to remember the more negative ones - so I just try and stay away." Raducanu only has a short wait to find out who she will take on at Wimbledon later this year. The draw for the 2025 edition takes place on Friday 27 June at 10am. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Reuters
31-01-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Zero appetite for 15-day Wimbledon, says Henman
LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Wimbledon organisers have "zero appetite" to turn the Championships into a 15-day event, according to former British number one and four-times semi-finalist Tim Henman. The U.S. Open announced this week that it would extend the main draw to 15 days while the Australian Open made the step this year. The French Open changed to a Sunday start in 2006. However, Wimbledon seems unlikely to follow suit, partly to protect the natural grass surface on Centre Court which can look threadbare by the finals weekend. Henman, who is a member of the All England Tennis Club board, said the decision to move to 14 days by removing the middle Sunday rest day from 2022 had been a big decision. "The big issue from when it was a 13-day event was that the middle Sunday was absolutely about watering the court to make sure that it was going to be still alive for the latter part of the tournament," he said. "Centre Court is the one that gets played on the most because it's used every day and to have it in the best possible condition for the final weekend, it was a big decision to go to 14 days. The research and data around that, you're looking at 80 hours of tennis on Centre, that's the sort of maximum. "I think the appetite to go to 15 days is zero, first and foremost because of the courts." Speaking to reporters at the launch of Sky Sports' tennis coverage of the ATP and WTA Tours and U.S. Open, Henman said that the 14-day format at Wimbledon was working well and that the 11 p.m. curfew would also likely remain in place. Matches finishing in the early hours have become a feature of the other Slams, but Wimbledon's relatively early finish is popular with players, media, organisers and fans alike. "I've always thought it was slightly bizarre that one of the great sporting events in the world almost has, like a bedtime and you're not allowed to go past 11 p.m.," the 50-year-old former world number four and now part of the Sky Sports coverage team, said at a padel centre in London's Canary Wharf. "But actually, the 11 o'clock deadline works very, very well. It's hard for everyone when you get these two, three, four in the morning finishes." While tradition remains important at Wimbledon, Henman admitted there was little option other than to dispense with line judges from this year's event onwards. "You know, every event on the ATP Tour will have electronic line calling this year," he said. "So if Wimbledon were to have taken the decision to say, 'Oh no, we're actually going to keep line judges,' I think that would have looked very bizarre."
