Inbredon’s Center Court is hosting a music festival for the first time to celebrate its 100th anniversary, just before the full tennis day in the middle of Sunday.
Veteran tennis broadcasters Superker, John McEnroe and Clare Balding tell 100 years of history on the court from 1:30 pm before British singer Freya Ridings appears in thousands of spectators.
Team GB Heather Watson first appears at the stadium to play against Germany’s Julney Meyer. After that, Novak Djokovic, the number one in the world, will face Tim van Rytoben of the Netherlands.
Thousands of free tickets are offered not only to refugees in Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan, but also to community groups and schools.
The Center Court has been the main stage of the championship since 1922, when the tournament moved from Warp Road to Church Road on SW19.
From the first black player to win Wimbledon in 1957, Altea Gibson, to the great Boris Becker of the former Grand Slam, who was put in jail the year the Berlin Wall collapsed, many memorable moments in history. Has arrived.
The court was also bombed in October 1940 during World War II, and Wimbledon was unable to repair the damaged parts until 1947.
In 1979 it was expanded to accommodate larger capacity and in 2009 it acquired a retractable roof.
For the past two years, tournaments have been endangered by the coronavirus. It was canceled in 2020, but in 2021 there was a 50% capacity limit.
When it returned to its climax in 2022, spectators say they didn’t want to express their affection for the court for more than 100 years.
Alison Montague, 77, and her daughter, Catherine, 50, from King’s Bromley, Staffordshire, have participated in dozens of Wimbledon tournaments.
Allison, a retired school secretary, said her first visit was in 1950, when the player used a wooden racket.
She told PA News Agency:
“I used to get autographs because the players were walking around, but now I can’t get close to them.”
She added that the atmosphere at the time was “great,” and it is still the case today.
Catherine added: “My favorite time on the center court was when Roger Federer defeated Andy Roddick with five sets of thrillers.
“He actually got more points than Federer, but it’s an important point Federer won.
“It was very exciting. Roddick has never won Wimbledon.”
SW19 veterans Maryjane (75) and Annie (69), both from Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, sat on the center court for Sir Andy Murray’s 2013 victory.
Maryjane tells PA: “Murray’s match, when they closed the roof for the first time, it was very exciting.
“Also, I’ve been to the finals against Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, who were absolutely incredible.
“They lasted until late at night, and you couldn’t go. You can. No. Go.
“Even when Virginia Wade won and the Queen was here, I was in the 77th final.”
When asked why he made the center coat special, Annie added:
“It’s symbolic and it doesn’t change much as things change. The roof didn’t ruin it.”
John Barrington, 73, a tennis coach at Somerset’s amateur club, said he first visited the center court when he was free after playing as a junior at Wimbledon Park at the age of nine.
He states:
“It was very impressive at the time, but it is still the case today.”
Marie Selby, 63, a wedding dress designer from Kew in western London, said she had been on the sidelines “many times”, including when the Williams sisters first met in 2000.
Selby, who enjoyed the championship with her daughter Phoebe this year, told PA:
“Even if extended as a court, you still feel very intimate.
“It’s very beautiful sand.”
Phoebe, a 25-year-old art gallery assistant, said she liked to see Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper hugging in the Royal Box after Sir Andy’s victory.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) plans to expand Wimbledon to nearby green spaces over the next eight years, adding several courts, including a 8,000-seat show court.
Alex Willis of AELTC told reporters: ..
“What I want is the purity of the experience.”
Ms. Willis said the planner was inspired by the “classic Tudor Country House” to envision the development of a “Downton Abbey” style, but 100 years later the court is still all-glass. I said there is.