No. 1 Court (Wimbledon)

The No. 1 Court is a tennis court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London. Opened in 1997 for replacing Old No. 1 Court, it is used for the Wimbledon Championships and is sometimes chosen for Great Britain Davis Cup home ties, the primary Centre Court being preserved solely for the Grand Slam tennis tournament (and the 2012 Olympic Games).

No. 1 Court
No. 1 Court in February 2013
LocationAll England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
Wimbledon, London, SW19
Coordinates51°26′07″N 0°12′53.30″W
Public transit Southfields
OwnerAELTC
Capacity12,345 seats
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened23 June 1997
Renovated2019 (retractable roof)
Construction cost£70,000,000 (2019 renovated)
Tenants
Wimbledon Championships

With a spectator capacity of 12,345 it replaced the now-demolished former No. 1 Court which had stood at the west side of Centre Court since 1924 with a spectator capacity of 7,328. The old court was replaced by the Millennium Building, the media centre and facilities for players, members, and officials.

Former No. 1 Court
The former No. 1 Court

The original No. 1 Court was built in 1924 and was attached to the west side of Centre Court.[lower-alpha 1] Originally it had a capacity of about 3,250 (2,500 seats and approximately 750 standing) which was increased over the years to 7,328[1][lower-alpha 2] It was smaller than the current No. 1 Court and was said to have had a unique, more intimate atmosphere, making it a favourite of many players.[3]

The Wightman Cup, an annual team tennis competition for women contested between teams from the United States and Great Britain was held on Court No 1 from 1946 to 1972.[3]

The old court was replaced in 1997 by the current No. 1 Court situated to the north of Centre Court in Aorangi Park. The old No. 1 Court was demolished because its capacity for spectators was too low. The site of the old court is now occupied by the Millennium Building, the media centre, and facilities for players, members, and officials.[4]

Current No. 1 Court
No. 1 Court seen under renovation works in April 2017.

The current No. 1 Court in Aorangi Park was built in 1997, with a spectator capacity of 11,432.[5] It was opened on 23 June 1997 and as part of the opening ceremony a salver was presented to 10 former champions who had won at least three singles titles.[lower-alpha 3] The first match played on the new court was between Tim Henman and Daniel Nestor.[5]

Retractable roof

In April 2013, the All England Club confirmed its intention to build a retractable roof over No. 1 Court.[6][7] As well as a retractable roof, the seating capacity of the court was increased by approximately 1,000 to seat 12,345 people.[8]

The roof was completed in time for the 2019 Championships, with it being unveiled at a celebratory event attended by legendary former players in May 2019. The roof was closed for the first time in a competitive match on 4 July 2019 during the Men's Doubles first round match featuring Andy Murray and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

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See also

Notes
  1. The first match played on the court was between the British players Brian Gilbert and Noel Turnbull. The following day the first ladies' match was played between Suzanne Lenglen and Sylvia Lumley-Ellis.[1]
  2. 700 seats were added in 1929, 450 in 1939, 900 in 1955 and 1,250 in 1981 resulting in a final seating capacity of 6,508.[2]
  3. The recipients of the silver salver were Louise Brough, Rod Laver, Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, John Newcombe, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Pete Sampras. The only surviving absentees were Maria Bueno, Björn Borg who declined to attend and Steffi Graf who was recovering from knee surgery.[5]

References
  1. Little (2013), p. 62
  2. Little (2013), p. 145
  3. Laurie Pignon (19 June 1996). "No 1 for all the hits". The Independent.
  4. Christopher Clarey (20 June 2011). "Friendlier Court Replaces Wimbledon 'Graveyard'". The New York Times.
  5. Little (2013), p. 91
  6. "Wimbledon invests in players and The Championships". The Championships, Wimbledon. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  7. "Wimbledon prize money up 40% and roof planned for Court One". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  8. "New No. 1 Court Roof Among Stadium Changes For Wimbledon 2019". Forbes. 11 June 2019.

Sources

  • Little, Alan (2013). 2013 Wimbledon Compendium (23rd ed.). London: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. ISBN 978-1899039401.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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