Former British No.1 tennis star Laura Robson has named the one strict Wimbledon rule which should never change and remain as a tradition.
This year’s Championships are the first without line judges in 148 years – a decision which split opinion – and has even led to some fans protesting.
Up to 18 cameras, developed by Hawk-Eye, have been placed around each court to track the progress of the ball and determine whether it is in or out, with Wimbledon now using the same technology as other Grand Slams.
But there is one rule that Robson never wants to see removed – the 11pm curfew – with play unable to continue past that time at the All England Club.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that has a night-time curfew and it is in place to protect local residents from late-night disturbances in SW19.
The curfew came into effect in 2009 when Centre Court’s roof opened, introduced by Merton Council, to obtain planning permission for the roof.
‘Tennis has become way too much of a late night sport’
The curfew can’t currently be removed – due to the agreement with Merton Council – but there has long been a debate about whether it should remain in place or be extended until later, given that other Grand Slams like the Australian Open let play continue into the early hours of the morning.
Robson, when quizzed if the strict 11pm curfew should be lifted, told Metro: ‘No. Wimbledon follows [Merton Council’s] rules and it is what it is.
‘Honestly, I think tennis has become way too much of a late night sport. Why are we playing at 2am? Why are we playing at 3am?
‘It’s not normal and no other sport does it. Sure, you want to have the opportunity to finish the match. If it’s 10.30pm and you’re going to be 15 minutes over, of course that makes sense.
‘In general I think the sort of backlash of playing at 1am is a nightmare for all of the players involved, all of the staff involved, all of the ball kids involved.
‘So yeah, I’d like to see less of that rather than getting rid of the curfew.’
Is there any flexibility with the curfew?
If a Wimbledon match reaches 11pm, it must be paused and resumed on the following day of action.
There has only been one occasion in which the curfew rules have been pushed very slightly – with British legend Andy Murray able to finish off a match in 2012 at 11.02pm.
Merton Council’s leader Stephen Alambritis said that ‘flexibility and common sense prevailed’ given that Murray was a game from victory over Marcos Baghdatis when the clock hit 11pm in south west London.
Should Wimbledon men play best of three sets?
Meanwhile, speaking at Wimbledon this year, Jessica Pegula, the world No.3 in women’s tennis, said that men should be playing best of three sets instead of five.
It has long been the case at the Grand Slams that men play best of five sets with women playing best of three sets.
Robson, the Tournament Director for the women’s WTA 500 event at Queen’s Club, when asked if men should be playing best of three sets at Wimbledon, said: ‘My view on it is that all matches should be best of three until the quarter-finals, and then make everything best of five.
‘Logistically, best of five in the early rounds is a nightmare to schedule and I see it from a tournament director point of view now. The first few days, some matches can be four and a half hours, some close to five hours.
‘So yeah it would certainly make the schedule a lot easier if it was best of three until the quarters.
‘I’ve always thought that [best of three women’s finals] are unfair [in comparison to the men] because if you’re a first-time finalist, you’re feeling nervous, you’re half an hour into the match – you might already be a set and a break down and it’s almost over.
‘It’s like you’ve not been able to sink your teeth into it. If you’re playing best of five, you’ve got at least an hour and a half to get into the match and make sure you’re playing your best tennis. So yeah I’d love the women to play a best of five final. Not everyone shares my view – that’s for sure!’
Robson clinches Guinness World Record
Alongside Jamie Murray, Robson has just smashed the Guinness World Record for the longest tennis rally of 101 strokes between two moving cars and fastest tennis serve of 46.67 km/h on the roof of a moving car.
‘It was a really cool day,’ Robson added. ‘We had no expectations of what it was going to be like because it was unlike anything else we’d ever done.
‘Jamie was bricking it for the first run that we did! In the end we smashed it. The stunt crew were amazing.
‘Probably one of the most fun parts for me was that we’d go down the runway one way for filming and then on the way back to the top of the runway, I’d sit on the top of the car and they’d gun it – 40mph – I felt like I was in the Titanic or something.
‘I felt a bit windswept by the end of the day!’
Robson was speaking to Metro via Lexus as part of their record breaking Served at Speed campaign.