the championships at wimbledon
played at: the all-england lawn and tennis club; wimbledon, uk
number of spectator courts: 19, including 6 show courts (centre court, court no. 1, court no.2, court no. 3, court no. 13 and court no. 18)
surface: grass
opened: 1922
attended: 26 & 27 june, 2006
quite simply, the center (or centre) of the tennis universe. the AELTC grounds are as hallowed as any in sports. it's a terraced facility that slopes gradually from the lofts of "henman hill" to the north down to the family-friendly acivities and restaurants that surround show court no. 13. purple flowers and green ivy absolutely saturate the facility. that is of course, when the whole place is not saturated by another substance...rain. but, it's all part of the experience.
after a near washout on day one, i decided it was unacceptable to not try again. day two was a cloudy, but dry day that proved as good an experience as i could have hoped.
my take
accessibility - at first, the lack of advance ticket options terrified me. and while it was much easier to actually get into the grounds and see a match or two on one of the main courts, it still has some room to improve. a day-of grounds pass will get you anywhere on the grounds except centre court, court no. 1 and most of court no. 2 (there is standing room on court no. 2.) in the first few days of the tournament, this offers an astonishing amount of big-name players and quality matches to be watched on outer courts. arrive early to join the infamous "queue," and you may even get a crack at a day-of reserved ticket for one of the main courts. however, and this is my secret gift to you, it is possible to get cheap 'resale' tickets starting at 3pm daily. about $10 will get you someone's seat that had to leave the grounds for whatever reason. well, worth the wait in yet another of england's famous lines.
atmosphere: reserved, as one would imagine, but every bit as electric as her younger counterparts in the event of a 20+ shot rally or a marathon 5-setter. the overall politeness is almost unsettling if you stop to think about it, but it's not a hard thing to take for granted. and if some low ranking brit happens to pull an unbelievable upset, well, just watch out.
overall asthetic: in a word, spectacular. the courts are immaculate. the buildings are stately. and the ambience is at times breathtaking. views of the lovely town of wimbledon rolling off on the hills surrounding the AELTC are as old-english as they come. there is a reason it is revered as highly as it is.
bottom line: it's freakin' wimbledon. they could play it in a barn in new jersey and it would still be amazing. fortunately for all of us, they don't play it in a barn in new jersey. nope, london sw19 will do just fine for years to come.
personal highlights:
-after her brief retirement, finally getting to see martina hingis play on court no. 2. one of the more intimate show courts in tennis.
-watching a match on "henman hill" that actually featured...tim henman. i'm afraid those days are numbered.
-strawberries and cream. mmmm.
-new british (scot) phenom andy murray cruising on centre court in front of an adoring crowd.
-(after the fact) getting to experience a truly soggy, wimbledon rain delay.
