Summer Sports - Tennis
Neil Stubley
Each grass court at Wimbledon is built to an identical specification, having a specific depth of soil profile overlying a gravel raft that is served by a primary drainage system. The clay loam soil has been specially blended for the club “The key to success started with the
renovation work last autumn. Getting this work done efficiently and consistently has a bearing on how well the courts are likely to perform this year,” continued Neil. “Renovation to the Centre Court and No.1 Court began immediately after last year’s Championships and, on the other courts, during August and September as they were taken out of play.” “All the courts are treated the same,”
explained Neil. “They get a good soaking, and are then fraise mown taking off the top 10-15mm of vegetation, leaving the soil surface to be power harrowed, re-levelled and seeded in several directions. Germination sheets are applied to speed up germination rates, with the grass showing after just a few days. We ended up with good even grass coverage, which was helped by a reasonably mild winter.” “We have also purchased a set of lighting rigs, which have been specifically designed to span the entire width of the court, giving a seven metre throw of light. It takes six moves to cover the whole court, leaving the lights in a set position for at least two days at a time, so
it takes, on average, a fortnight to complete each cycle. They have certainly helped maintain good grass cover and improve growth in shaded areas during the winter, especially on the ‘stadium’ courts.” “All courts are kept at a mowing height of 11mm through the winter months, with the exception of Centre and No. 1 which are kept at 13mm.” “We feed the courts to maintain colour, as we get a lot of visitors coming to our Museum, and on tours, who want to see them, so it is important they are always well presented. An enclosed viewing platform has been constructed looking down on Centre Court.”
The wet and cold weather during April JUNE/JULY 2012 PC 49
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