The nineteen courts used for Wimbledon are all composed purely of rye grass. The speed and the low bounce of grass courts favours serve and volley players. Serve and volleyers such as Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras have all won the Championships. However, baseliners such as Björn Borg have also performed very well, as have all-court players like Roger Federer. Among women, the serve and volley strategy is less common; one of the few female serve and volleyers, Martina Navrátilová, won Wimbledon on a record nine occasions.
The main show courts, Centre Court and No. 1 Court, are used only for two weeks a year, during the Championships. The remaining seventeen courts, however, are regularly used for other events hosted by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event played on grass courts. At one time, all of the other Grand Slam events were played on grass. The French Open abandoned grass for its current red clay in 1928, while the U.S. and Australian Opens stayed with grass decades longer. The U.S. Open abandoned grass for a synthetic clay surface in 1975, and changed again to a hard surface with its 1978 move to its current venue. The Australian Open abandoned grass for a different type of hard surface in 1988.
The main court, Centre Court, was opened in 1922 when the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club moved from Worple Road to Church Road. Due to possibility of rain during Wimbledon, a retractable roof is planned for the court; it is expected to be completed in 2009. The court has a capacity of almost 14,000; at its south end is the Royal Box, from which members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries watch matches. Centre Court usually hosts the finals and semi-finals of the main events, as well as many matches in the earlier rounds involving top-seeded players.
The second most important court is No. 1 Court. The court was constructed in 1997 to replace the old No. 1 Court, which was adjacent to Centre Court, but was demolished because its capacity for spectators was too low. The original No. 1 Court was said to have a unique, more intimate atmosphere, and was a favourite of many players. The new No. 1 Court has a capacity of approximately 11,000. The third-largest court, No. 2 Court, has been dubbed the "Graveyard of Champions" due to its reputation as the court on which many seeded players have been eliminated during the early rounds. Famous players who have lost on the Graveyard during early round play include John McEnroe, Pete Sampras and Serena Williams. The court has a capacity of about 3,000. |
