LONDON — Shortly before Roger Federer came out to play his first round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday, a voice on social media said.
Good morning @rogerfederermy old friend. I’m here to help you one last time if you need me… #toitrogers
– Wimbledon Roof (@WimbledonRoof) June 29, 2021
The voice was the Twitter account for the roof of Wimbledon Center Court, a tongue-in-cheek offering that began in 2012, three years after the roof itself officially opened. As the Twitter profile says: “The famous roof of Wimbledon. Open when it rains, closed when it’s nice – a source of discussion whatever the weather…”
Built at great expense for the All England Club – the New York Times reported its cost in 2009 was around $165 million – the roof was a hot topic during the first two days of this year’s event, due to bad weather and a number of high-profile slips.
While the roof on Center Court – and its more recent counterpart on Court No. 1 (which opened in 2019 at a reported cost of $85 million) – allowed play to continue, it may also have contributed to the slip and injury of a number of players.
Serena Williamsthe seven-time champion, left the court in tears after aggravating a hamstring injury while Federer’s opponent, Adrien Mannarinodropped out one point into the final set after injuring his knee.
Neil Stubley, the All England Club’s head keeper, told Wimbledon radio on Wednesday that it was the first time the roof had been closed on the first day of the event.
Stubley added that the slightly reduced airflow over the field, when the roof is closed, may have contributed to making conditions slightly more slippery than if the roof was open.
Federer said that after his first round match he felt like conditions were different when the roof was closed.
“I think maybe it’s a little more slippery under the roof,” Federer said. “I don’t know if it’s just a hunch. You have to move very, very carefully. If you push too hard at the wrong time, you go down. I feel like it’s drier during the day. With the wind and all that, it takes the moisture out of the grass.”
For the first time in two long years, we have tennis under my watchful eye. Let’s do this… #tennisroof https://t.co/6ryua7lnIS
– Wimbledon Roof (@WimbledonRoof) June 28, 2021
For decades, Wimbledon was known as much for rain as it was for lawn tennis and strawberries and cream. The British summer often forced supporters to take cover as ground staff rushed to pull the protective coverings onto the pitch.
Play has been interrupted at Wimbledon several times over the years.
In 1982, only half of the 365 matches scheduled for the first week were played due to bad weather and since the Second World War, 15 full days have been canceled completely.
After years of procrastination, Wimbledon relented and a new retractable roof was opened with great fanfare, only to be barely used in the first few years, including only once in 2009.
The match between the former champion Amélie Mauresmo And Dinara Safina that year was interrupted due to rain, then finished under the roof. Andy Murray then beat Stan Wawrinka in the first full match under the roof, finishing at a then-record late hour of 10:39 p.m.
Wimbledon didn’t get much bang for its buck in the early years as the British weather stubbornly refused to play ball.
According to the Wimbledon Compendium, which details a host of weird and wonderful facts about the Championships, the roof was only used once in 2010 (and not because of rain), twice in 2015, once in 2017 and not at all in 2019.
The Compendium does not keep a complete record of every time the roof has been used each year, although that is something the Club says it is looking into for next year.
The roof was closed for the start of the first match of this year’s event between the defending champion Novak Djokovic and Great Britain Jack Draperand although it was opened for Sloane Stephens against Petra Kvitovait ended after Murray’s third set of the match with Nikoloz Basilashvili.
The second day was hardly better, with several matches on the outdoor courts canceled again, but the roof retained Ash BartyFederer and Williams dry up.
In 2019, a second retractable roof was opened on Court No. 1, with Wimbledon covering the $85 million cost from its own funds, a statement made at the same time as it increased the prices of its bond tickets, the only tickets that can officially be resold.
The roof of Center Court has also played an important role in the fate of the Championships, notably in 2012 when it was closed at the start of the third set of the final between Federer and Murray, the Swiss winning the title for the seventh time.
“Of course it was a bit of a game changer,” Murray said at the time. “The way he plays on the court is a little different. I think he served very well when the roof closed. He served better. I think he hasn’t lost an indoor match since 2010, so he’s playing well under the roof.”
But he came to Murray’s rescue on Monday when he had to be shut down after the third set of his match against Basilashvili, allowing the former two-time champion to regroup and win it in the fourth set.
Hi @andy_murray. Good to see you again, it’s been too long. Is this a bad time to accept that glass offer? https://t.co/wjLU4uTQ6g
– Wimbledon Roof (@WimbledonRoof) June 28, 2021
