Strawberries, robot commentators and coloured underwear: all you need to know about Wimbledon
What’s all the excitement about Wimbledon, then? I know we’re all into reusing and recycling these days but it seems like a bit of a hoo-ha about the home of a bunch of pointy-faced, fluffy friends. I think you may be referring to the Wombles? And while, yes, Wimbledon is home to the stop-motion children’s television characters it is also the birthplace of the Wimbledon Championships, the oldest and arguably most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. Founded in 1877 don’t you know!
That sounds quite fancy. It is. For tennis lovers it is the best two weeks of the year, when the top-ranking players from around the globe gather to showcase the finesse, skill and power of the modern game in the luxury surrounds of the All England Club in Wimbledon, London. For others it’s an opportunity to listen to a lot of chat about strawberries.
Strawberries? What have soft summer fruits got to do with tennis? Strawberries have been a fixture of the tournament since its earliest days, when the shorter Victorian strawberry season coincided with its duration. There is always significant amounts of chat about Britain’s favourite fruit and far too much analysis of the berry’s cost and abundance. This year, the All
England Club has – despite rocketing inflation and production costs – kept the price at £2.50 a punnet for the 12th year in succession. Proving definitively, organisers boast, that the competition is certainly, in no way, elitist. This spirit of inclusivity is probably also why they’re letting robots into the game.
Seriously? Well, not on court. But, for the first time, Wimbledon is introducing artificial intelligence-powered commentary to its coverage this year, available on the Wimbledon app and website. Game, set and chatbot.
Yes, very good. But what about the actual tennis? Is Andy Murray going to win again? And what about that young British superstar? I think you mean Emma Raducanu, who won the US Open in 2021 aged 18. Sadly, she’s been plagued by injury since and won’t play at Wimbledon. Sir Andy’s hopes of being seeded at Wimbledon came to an abrupt end at Queen’s Club last week - a warm-up tournament - when he was defeated in the first round. British hopefuls to watch are Cameron Norrie, who wowed the Wimbledon crowd last season when he reached the semi-final and Katie Boulter who just moved into the world’s top 80 after winning the Nottingham Open.
So who is going to win then? In the men’s singles competition, Novak Djokovic probably. The women’s is anyone’s guess.
Oh Djokovic! I’ve heard of him! Tall fella. Not a big fan of Covid vaccinations. He’s good is he? Relentlessly so. The Serb won a men’s record 23rd grand slam title at the French Open last month. He holds the all-time record for grand slam singles titles and Masters 1000 events. He is the most successful men’s player in the game’s history, but whether he is the GOAT remains a subject of fierce debate. Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, who lost to Djokovic in the final in four sets last year, has reportedly argued: “No one can stop him if it’s not me.” But if you really want to sound like you know what you’re talking about around the water cooler, throw in a line about Carlos Alcaraz being a serious contender. Something like “he’s just won Queen’s and is the clear future dominant force in the men’s game, possessing a ferocious forehand and a feather touch drop shot”.
Best concentrate on the women’s competition then? Exactly! And the women will be able to as well, after Wimbledon organisers relaxed its strict all-white kit rule. This is the first year women will be able to wear coloured undershorts – so they don’t have to worry about having or getting their period. The women’s singles competition promises to be a corker. Top seed Iga Swiatek, a three-time champion in Paris and a four-time grand slam title winner at 22 years old, will be riding high after winning the French Open. There have been concerns about the fitness of the reigning champion, Elena Rybakina, after she withdrew from the Rothesay International Eastbourne, a Wimbledon warm-up. Tunisian Ons Jabeur – who became the first African and Arab player to reach a grand slam singles final at Wimbledon last year before a crushing defeat to
Rybakina – will be desperately hoping to raise the Venus Rosewater Dish this time.
The Venus Rosewater Dish? Is that the name of your sex tape? No! And stop it! This is a family news organisation. It’s the name of a ceremonial platter awarded to the winner of the ladies’ singles trophy. But also contains the name of one of tennis most loved players, Venus Williams, who will be back via a wildcard in the competition this year – at the grand old age of 43. There’s hope for us all.
There really isn’t. No, not at all. But, it will still be wonderful to see Venus in action even if it will not fill the goddess-shaped hole of her younger sister Serena, who won seven Wimbledon singles titles, but announced her decision to step away from tennis after losing in the first round of last year’s tournament. The sisters won six doubles titles together at Wimbledon.
Anyone else? The Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka is back in the running, returning to Wimbledon after the competition reversed its ban on players from Russia and Belarus.
Because Russia’s war in Ukraine is over? No, but after banning players from Russia and Belarus last year – going against the stance held by all other tournaments on the ATP and WTA tours – Wimbledon was stripped of ranking points. This essentially rendered the competition an exhibition event, with players unable to improve their position in world rankings, as they do at all other official tournaments. This year Russian and Belarusian players will be able to play at Wimbledon – and other UK grass events – as neutral athletes. This puts Sabalenka back into play, as well as Russian men’s world No 3 Daniil Medvedev. It’s been a whole thing. The LTA feared that the threats from the ATP and the WTA to suspend its events from their tours constituted an “existential threat” for British tennis. And tennis is not a place for existentialism.
Maybe Wimbledon lovers should tune into reruns of the Wombles instead then? Sounds a lot more relaxing. Maybe, but then they would miss the dulcet tones of Clare Balding who will replace Sue Barker as the lead presenter of the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage this summer, after Barker decided that 22 years at the helm of Today at Wimbledon was quite enough. “I am very aware that no one person can fill Sue’s shoes,” Balding said when the news was finally announced. “It’s my job to bring out the best in them and to help make our viewers feel they have a front row seat on the greatest sporting stage.”
Bring out the best in Sue Barker’s shoes? What? No, me neither. The tennis is going to be great though.