NEIL STUBLEY DEFENDS CONDITION OF WIMBLEDON COURTS
In the face of player criticism
Wimbledon’s head groundsman has defended the condition of the All England Club’s courts following criticism from a number of players at this year’s Championships.
Earlier last week the French player Kristina Mladenovic branded Court 18 ‘dangerous’, while Andy Murray criticised the condition of Centre Court after his third round victory over Fabio Fognini.
The Indpendent reported that after his game on Friday night Andy Murray said,"The court I don't think is in as good a condition as previous years,” he said on Friday night. “There's quite a few spots on the court, just behind the baseline and just in front of the baseline, which I don't remember really being the case."
Neil Stubley, the All England Club’s head of courts and horticulture, is quoted in the same report responding to the criticism saying courts are in the same condition as usual. “We set them up to the exact standard that we've done in many previous years,” he said on Saturday. “Obviously we listen to players, because their feedback is important. But the data shows to us those courts that are in question are within range of the other courts, and they are within the range of previous years.
“That's all we can work to, is the data that we feel is best for the health of the courts.”
Last week Bethanie Mattek-Sands needed surgery after dislocating her right kneecap and rupturing her patella tendon after slipping on court during her match.
The Evening Standard quoted Neil Stubley as going on to say, "Obviously we're dealing with the extreme heat, which we're not used to every single Championships. So from one Championships to another you will get variations in temperatures which will actually have an effect on how you manage the courts.
"We go into The Championships with as healthy grass as we possibly can so we can endure those extremes. So if we get extreme heat, or last year with the extreme wet, we can deal with it. We have the mechanisms in place that we can add water, we can dry them a little bit more. We can actually be in control of how the plant is surviving.
"We've had more matches and more hours played, so that would equate to more wear on the courts."
Asked in the Evening Standard about Court. 18, where Mladenovic fell, suffering a twisted ankle ahead of the match against Riske, Neil said, "We go out, we have a look. We looked at the baselines and the areas that they thought there was an issue. We didn't feel there was. The Grand Slam supervisor and Assistant Referee didn't believe that there was either."
|