TENNIS


When we know it is going to fl ood, we have to


evacuate the site as the water can get up to four feet high on the grass court


involved in getting ready for the tournament. “It is now named the Ilkley Trophy and is a pre-Wimbledon tournament. Work starts about now really to get the grass prepared for next spring. Then, two weeks before, we begin to put up canvases and the stands are erected a week before the tournament. We get help from the local rugby club (who want some paid work) to help the groundstaff during the event. As we need at least six people to pull the covers on and off , we will cut every day and white line some courts the previous evening to save us time in the morning. We used to start work at 5.00am but, since investing in better machinery and cutting and prepping some courts the evening before, we are able to start an hour later. We can be here till at least ten at night prepping for the next day’s play.” “The tournament lasts nine days, running


from a Saturday to a Sunday. We do not get the top players attending the event as we are on at the same time as the Queen’s Club and Halle Open in Germany. We normally get players ranked between sixty and one hundred and fi fty. A few years ago, our ladies winner Magdaleyna Rybarikova, got to the semi-fi nals of Wimbledon and, at the last tournament, we had Leander Paes come and play in the doubles; he has won eighteen Grand Slam titles (mainly doubles) in his career. In recent years, we have also had Daniil Medvedev, who won the 2020 ATP Finals, and Ivan Dodig, to name a few.” Richard tells me the soil profi le of the courts is a combination of clay and sand, and that they are very well-draining, considering there are no drains. In the past, the courts have been koroed off ,


86


PC December/January 2021


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