Wimbledon 2025 #2 de wijken in

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Op vrijdag 4 juli 2025 22:39 schreef FundsAreSafu het volgende:
Lijkt me mooi als het curfew wordt aangetikt, ZIEDENDE Britten

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'Grass playing like clay' - why Wimbledon's courts are slower

Conditions have been tough for the players at Wimbledon, but for some it is not just the high temperatures making things difficult - it is also the grass they are playing on.

Several of those competing at the Grand Slam this week have said the balls are bouncing differently, while one player said it is like playing on clay - traditionally a much slower surface.

It has been an especially hot start to the tournament, with Monday setting a record for the warmest opening day when the temperature reached 32.3C, while the mercury rose to 33.4C on Tuesday, although rain arrived on Wednesday morning.

Wimbledon's head groundsman Neil Stubley said the heat has contributed to slower courts but felt criticism of the ball's bounce was unfair.

"One of the things we do extensively is consistency," he told BBC Sport. "One of the things we always try and always do is make sure our ball bounce and ball speed is very consistent.

"I think you probably will see the ball a little slower and I think the reason for that is probably where the [grass] leaf is drying out a bit more, the ball is gripping the leaf a little bit more.

"You and I, we might not notice that but when you are a top athlete you will see those nuances where the ball may feel like it is coming in slower and it is just allowing that 10th of a second for a player to be able to adapt.

"Everything we are a looking at, the consistency, I think we are in a good place."

Defending women's champion Barbora Krejcikova voiced her thoughts on the surface after battling back to win her opening match against Alexandra Eala on Tuesday.

"There's not enough water, and it gets really, really yellow, very, very fast," she said.

"I think with the heat, yes, the grass is more like stopping. The game is just different [to] what you are normally used to."

'This isn't grass any more' - what have players said?
Canadian Denis Shapovalov, the number 27 seed at Wimbledon, was knocked out by Argentina's Mariano Navone in the first round.

He was broken six times by his opponent as he suffered his earliest exit at the tournament since 2019.

"The balls are the worst, the grass tour has turned into a joke," he said after his defeat.

"This isn't grass any more, the court is slower than a clay one. It's not even grass."

Two-time champion Petra Kvitova said things had changed over the years.

"I'm not sure if it's only grass," she said. "Maybe it's the balls, as well. Overall it's getting slower."

Eight top-10 seeded players have exited in the first round - the highest tally at a single Grand Slam event in the Open era.

Among those to be knocked out was American third seed Jessica Pegula, who said the courts at Wimbledon "felt different" but added: "That's grass – they're all kind of different. It's a living surface, they're not going to play the same."

Poland's former world number one Iga Swiatek feels the Wimbledon courts are playing slower and the "ball bounced differently" in the heat but expects things to change.

"With the change of the weather we will have to adjust every day to the different conditions," she said.

What is the effect of slower courts?
Slower courts lead to longer rallies as players have more time on the ball.

It can therefore also lead to longer matches, which can be more physically draining for players.

Former doubles player Dom Inglot told BBC Sport that courts had been getting slower since 2001. Before that, you would see players hitting serve and volley predominantly rather than the long baseline rallies you more often see now.

He believes part of the change is down to Wimbledon wanting to make the courts more aesthetically appealing after years where the courts looked very worn by the second week, while also wanting to deliver a better spectacle for fans.

"The idea was Wimbledon had to compete with the great rallies you were seeing at the Australian Open, US Open, French Open," he said.

"Serve and volley all the time was getting a bit mundane so they wanted more rallies and so there was discussion of do you change balls, do you change the court and I think they went with both."

A slower surface means players need to adapt their tactics.

"It was ridiculous to think you could hit a kick serve that would jump off the surface like a kick works on clay or hard courts – that was not imaginable 10 years ago, now kick is working," Inglot said.

"It used to be slice serves and flat serves but now you're using kick serves because you're starting to get the ball moving away from opponents."

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Op vrijdag 4 juli 2025 14:34 schreef mitt het volgende:
Lol @ de laatste servicegame van Shelton.

3 aces en service winner.

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Op zaterdag 5 juli 2025 13:32 schreef kleinzusje het volgende:
WAAROM geen tennis ?

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Op zaterdag 5 juli 2025 13:51 schreef DobbyDobby het volgende:

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Regen

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Op zaterdag 5 juli 2025 19:49 schreef yvonne het volgende:
Jullie missen wat hoor met Shelton.

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Op zaterdag 5 juli 2025 19:14 schreef mitt het volgende:
Hopen dat Kecmanovic even raar gaat doen.

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Op zaterdag 5 juli 2025 20:03 schreef leukeditter het volgende:

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djokovic speelt weer als 10 jaar terug..bij vlagen niet normaal

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Op zaterdag 5 juli 2025 21:04 schreef yvonne het volgende:
Shelton is nog niet zo ver, maar dat worden mooie wedstrijden de komende jaren.
Het joch heeft zoveel plezier in spelen, dat straalt hij uit. Hij is ook aardig voor de ballenjongen. Gewoon leuk en groeiend!

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Op zaterdag 5 juli 2025 21:26 schreef vrijgevochten het volgende:

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We gaan het zien de komende ronden