Roof left open during rain but shut for dry weather

Wimbledon is facing criticism for its mishandling of the Centre Court roof, having kept it closed during dry weather for Katie Boulter’s win but then leaving it open during rain while Rafael Nadal was playing.

Nadal’s fourth set against Ricardas Berankis was heavily disrupted as staff were forced to sweep the grass dry as the roof eventually came over, causing a 50-minute delay.

The All England Club had no immediate explanation for the decisions although organisers are always kept up to date with minute-by-minute weather forecasts.

The decision to keep the roof closed earlier had puzzled Briton Boulter, who produced the biggest win of her career by upsetting Karolina Pliskova, last year’s runner-up at Wimbledon, to reach the third round of a grand slam for the first time.

This was the second year in a row playing on Centre Court for Boulter after her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka at the same stage last year. The roof was kept closed for the match despite conditions being dry and play continuing on the outdoor courts. The indoor conditions initially appeared to suit Pliskova, and she began to find rhythm on her serve and groundstrokes, reeling off five games in a row. However, Boulter turned things round.

When asked about the closed roof, Boulter said: “It was definitely a change. I didn’t know until maybe five minutes before I went on the court. It was definitely relevant. It was nice to get acquainted in my first match under the roof. Never seen it before, never played underneath it.

“It took a few minutes to get used to, for sure. The first few service games I think from maybe both of us were a little bit dodgy. I was just getting used to my ball toss. It was nice to play a different match. Different conditions.

“Obviously the courts are different than last week, they’re a lot slower. But, yeah, it was a little bit of a surprise for me because I didn’t really know about the weather either. Obviously it’s not my job to make that call. Ultimately it’s the people that put the tournament on.”

As well as the lengthy rain delay for Nadal, BBC viewers faced further frustrations as footage switched back to his fixture at the critical point that Briton Jack Draper went one set up against Alex de Minaur.