The new retractable roof at Wimbly is up and it's...interesting.
The first thing that struck me was how low the roof seems to sit. Apparently it's 16 meters above the court surface. I don't know why but that seems low to me.
The roof takes 10 minutes to close and another 20 minutes for the air management system to kick in. I'm going to assume that the air system is basically a dehumidifier, which is necessary given the increase in humidity once the roof closes. I'm not, however, convinced the dehumidifier is going to work. I would expect a lot of slip and falls in the first few weeks of Wimbledon.
Interestingly, the roof hasn't been retracted yet. So...that's going to be a bit of stressful pull of the lever. The roof will be tested on May 17th when an exo with Steffi, Andre, Kim, and Tim will be played. I would assume that the exo will start with the roof open and then close it midmatch but I've also read reports that the matches will be played entirely under the roof. That's a bit of waste.
Again, that's all fine and good, but I'm pretty sure you're going to get different reactions from four retired players who don't want to throw out their backs, as opposed to current elite players who are going to try and hit the brakes just as they do on clay. I don't know, I'm a little worried.
While the roof is 40% transluscent, there are floodlights built into the trusses. So screw Breakfast at Wimbledon. Get ready for Dinner at Wimbledon. Matches are authorized to finish late into the night if necessary. No word on what that means for the outer courts. If darkness sets and other matches can't finish due to light, do they get to move onto center court?
Interestingly, the roof hasn't been retracted yet. So...that's going to be a bit of stressful pull of the lever. The roof will be tested on May 17th when an exo with Steffi, Andre, Kim, and Tim will be played. I would assume that the exo will start with the roof open and then close it midmatch but I've also read reports that the matches will be played entirely under the roof. That's a bit of waste.
Again, that's all fine and good, but I'm pretty sure you're going to get different reactions from four retired players who don't want to throw out their backs, as opposed to current elite players who are going to try and hit the brakes just as they do on clay. I don't know, I'm a little worried.
While the roof is 40% transluscent, there are floodlights built into the trusses. So screw Breakfast at Wimbledon. Get ready for Dinner at Wimbledon. Matches are authorized to finish late into the night if necessary. No word on what that means for the outer courts. If darkness sets and other matches can't finish due to light, do they get to move onto center court?
Of course, somewhat lost in all the hoopla is the fact that the roof is only over center court. All the other courts are still roofless.
So sucks to be JJ when she's stuck on Court 11 and the clouds start to form. Luckily she can use the helicopter for shelter.
So sucks to be JJ when she's stuck on Court 11 and the clouds start to form. Luckily she can use the helicopter for shelter.
