Groundsman on coping with Wimbledon shutdown
Simon Briggs hears how All England Club staff are carrying on regardless of tournament cancellation
Imagine an artist slaving over a portrait for a private owner, in the knowledge that it will never appear in a gallery. That is rather how Neil Stubley has felt since last week’s Wimbledon cancellation. As head groundsman at the All England Club, Stubley’s work continues. For one thing, he must defend his territory from foreign flora. For another, the Government could change tack at any moment, allowing club members to return to their pastimes. But it is not quite the same.
“That day after the announcement, you do feel a bit deflated,” Stubley says.
“Even though you kind of expected it, because of what is going on in the world, to actually see it on the strapline on Sky News – that brought it home.
“One of the beauties about my job is that I get to showcase my work to the world every year. When the eyes of the world are looking to how Centre Court is for that first day of The Championships, it’s always a nervous moment. It will be a funny feeling, through June and July, not to have that adrenalin rush.”
Tennis fans rarely think about those crucial few inches under a player’s feet. The excellence of Wimbledon’s grass courts is so axiomatic that we take it for granted. And yet, when you stop to think about the fragility of this natural surface, it is a minor miracle that the tournament runs so smoothly in any normal year.
The timing has to be right, however.
The grass is at its strongest around midsummer’s day – and this was among the factors that ruled out any postponement of this year’s tournament.
“In late summer the sun gets lower in the sky,” Stubley says. “Then the dew point on the grass arrives earlier, and the courts get slippery. The window for play becomes shorter at both ends. As much as it would be lovely to be able to play in late summer and autumn, it’s not possible.
“It’s true that we have staged Davis Cup matches in September. But play would start at 11.30am or noon and finish by 5pm. Whereas, at The Championships, you’re going from 11am until 9pm every day. To get through 670 matches over 13 days is a challenge in the height of summer, let alone at other times of the year.”
So, how has the pandemic affected working life within the All England Club’s gates? “We’re very fortunate,” Stubley says. “We’ve got a team of 15 spread over a 42-acre site, so maintaining a two-metre distance is actually quite easy.”
In any other year, the workforce would double as The Championships approach. Seasonal workers arrive at the end of April – many flying from the Antipodes. Even in this blighted summer, four reinforcements are due to join.
The battle against Stubley’s nemesis poa annua (common name: annual meadow grass) must go on. But other elements of a conventional spring – including the comradely tea-breaks – have been suspended.
“We tend to wave at each other from a distance,” Stubley explains. “And we have done away with the usual meeting at the start of each day. All the jobs are put out the previous evening via our WhatsApp group. The guys have radios. When it’s all over, we will take stock of everything, and hopefully the whole team are still fit and healthy and well.”
Despite the likely loss of some £200million in revenues this summer, the All England Club are protected by pandemic insurance. The club have no plans to place any employees on furlough, and – on the upside – the hours will be much less crazy than usual. Isn’t that some consolation?
“Ask my wife at the end of July,” replies Stubley, whose midChampionship workload normally runs from 6am to 9pm. “She might disagree. But, yes, it will be nice to see more of my kids.
“At least we’re still working,” he adds. “There are a lot of golf clubs, smaller tennis clubs and cricket clubs up and down the country which are closed – and, unfortunately, they could face financial ruin.”
Under the recent sunshine, Wimbledon’s striped lawns glowed with potential. It feels almost tragic that Roger Federer and Serena Williams will not be gracing them this year. But we should be careful with our choice of words. Real tragedies are unfolding in the local hospitals.
“When you see all the poor souls who are ill, that puts sport into perspective,” Stubley concludes. “It will be a strange summer for a lot of people.”