The mid-year transition from the slow, languid clay courts of Europe to the unpredictable grass of the United Kingdom feels like a turning point in the world of tennis, not just for the players who must adjust their style of play within a quick period of time, but also for us, the spectators. The first sight of the green lawns, when they are untouched by hundreds of feet and tennis balls bouncing all over them, is refreshing. Add to that the image of juicy red strawberries and cream, tall glasses of chilled Pimm’s, the purple and dark green striped umbrellas, and you have a completely different sensory experience from the other three slams.
At the All England Club, whose original and official name is All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, time seems often to stand still. The events are still called the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Singles or Doubles. Umpires add a Miss or Mrs to female players’ names when calling score. Players still curtsy or bow to members of the British royal family when they are present, and everyone still wears predominantly white. Despite a few significant changes in recent times, such as a delayed start by a week and the introduction of a retractable roof, most of the traditions at this posh London suburb remain entrenched in the fabric of both the British people and those around the world who love to play or follow tennis. Sometimes, in the midst of great chaos all around, such an oasis of stability can offer great comfort.
As far as tennis is concerned, the brevity of the grass court season only makes it more special. The lush green lawns will disappear from our TV screens after this tournament. Once the established surface on which people played tennis, grass has now been relegated to a handful of weeks at the beginning of the English summer. The special skills of serve and volley tennis that were required to excel on grass are also all but fading. It is a great irony of the sport that even though most of today’s players will claim not to enjoy playing on grass, nearly everyone still wants more than anything else to win Wimbledon. As defending champion Novak Djokovic put it, this is “the cathedral” of tennis. Indeed, when a hush falls over Center Court on a cloudy afternoon, where two players dressed in pristine white battle out a close match, the atmosphere can resemble that of a religious service.
Many distractions
Some would argue that the true religion in Europe is football. As is the case every couple of years, this year too Wimbledon coincides with a major international football tournament. On the very first day of this year’s event, England suffered a humiliating defeat to Iceland in the Round of 16 of Euro 2016. Both England and the rest of Europe will find their attention divided as Euro 16 reaches its final stages. Even some of the tennis players, in past years, have been known to get distracted by the football results.
This year, though, football is not the biggest distraction. Beginning only days after Britain’s referendum on Brexit, Wimbledon can hardly hope to escape its impact. On the Friday before The Championships began, as the pound plunged by nearly 10%, the prize money depreciated by more than $275,000. Despite a 5% increase in prize money from last year, the singles prize of £2 million will now be worth $2.7 million instead of $2.9 million. This dent is unlikely to cause problems for the top-ranked players. It is the lower-ranked players who lose in the early rounds and depend on these grand slams for their livelihood who are most impacted.
The Brexit referendum coincided with the Wimbledon qualifying rounds last week. A rain delay forced several players who were scheduled to finish their last matches on Thursday to wait until Friday. Of course, by the time the sun rose on Friday, the pound had begun its free fall. A prize of £15,000 fell overnight by nearly $2,000 and more than €1,000.
Players tight-lipped
Unlike players losing in the qualifiers, who were vocal about their disappointment with their personal financial losses, the more famous names have chosen to remain non-committal about Brexit. Federer sounded as neutral as Switzerland when asked in an interview what he thought would happen. “Time will tell,” he said.
The player who could be most deeply impacted by Brexit, especially if Scotland eventually decides it wants another referendum on gaining independence from Britain, of course, is Andy Murray. Although he admitted to having followed the referendum very closely, when asked to comment on the result, he said, “I'm not discussing that today.”
It’s understandable that the players want to keep their focus on tennis and preparation for their matches, instead of being drawn into political commentary. In any case, the divorce of the UK from the European Union is unlikely to cause as much disruption among tennis players as in sports such as football where many European players reside in the UK under EU guidelines to play in the Premier League. But it cannot be easy for anyone in London at present to ignore the stock market crash and the instability in the British government as everyone tries to figure out what to do next. The shadow of Brexit looms like a raincloud over the All England Club this fortnight.
But the beautiful thing about sport is that when politicians and economists are talking about division, it serves to bring people together. When confusion and uncertainty hover, the competition and camaraderie of sport can help to heal. In the coming months and years, Britain will face many seismic changes. But, for these two weeks, as people from all over Europe and the world converge here to share their love for tennis, inside the timeless cathedral, it might just be possible to believe that everything is just the same.
Oindrila Mukherjee tweets here.