- The scheduling of the programme of matches to be played each day at The Championships is a complex operation. The final order of play for the day is the result of considering and balancing many factors, some of which may well be conflicting. Matches available for selection on a particular day cannot be scheduled in isolation, without considering the implications for the logical progression of The Championships programme on subsequent days.
- The scale of the task of the Referee and the Order of Play Sub-Committee is considerable. Wimbledon is the world’s premier tennis tournament. The total prize money is over £11 million. 12 events, involving 664 competitors and more than 700 matches, have to be completed on 18 outdoor grass courts over 13 days. Wimbledon is attended in person by nearly half a million spectators over the two weeks, while in 2007 the 10,211 hours of television coverage reached potentially 748 million homes across 185 territories. More than 266 million page views and over 8 million unique visitors from around the world visited the official website (www.wimbledon.org) to view live scores, results, photos, latest news and interviews and listen to live coverage of Radio Wimbledon.
- Efficient and imaginative scheduling of the daily Order of Play throughout The Championships is crucial not only for the reputation of Wimbledon, but for the enjoyment of the event by players, spectators, and viewers. In deciding the daily Order of Play, the interests of The Championships, served by attention to the interests of players, spectators, national and international TV, radio and online audiences, and the press, must come first.
- The daily scheduling of matches on court has to depend on estimates of the average length of different types of matches, and on general assumptions about the weather. It is impossible to predict the actual length of any individual match, or the actual weather.
- Every effort is always made to keep faith with published court schedules, but unpredictable factors outside the control of the Referee and the Order of Play Sub-Committee may sometimes intervene.
- The role of the Referee, based on experience, knowledge and their relationship with the players is crucial.
- Every attempt is made to have a balanced mixture of men’s and ladies’ singles, men’s and ladies’ doubles, and mixed doubles, whenever possible, at the appropriate times during the Fortnight. On the show courts in particular, every effort is made to provide balanced, competitive matches. Potentially one-sided matches are avoided. Undue preference must not be shown for men’s matches, although certain days are regarded as ladies’ days.
- Players in the same sector of the draw have to be progressed on the same day, whenever possible, in order to synchronise programmes throughout the two weeks, to make sure that each stage has the requisite number of players available, and to minimise the effects of bad weather.
- Singles matches have to be scheduled very carefully within a day’s programme in order to allow for possible involvement in doubles or mixed doubles later in the day by the same players.
- That players have played matches very late the previous day must be taken into account. Also, some allowance may be made under certain circumstances for temporary illness.
- The likely length of the daily programme of any particular mixture of matches has to be very carefully considered. Unfinished matches are undesirable and can cause serious problems in scheduling subsequent singles matches, especially during bad weather conditions, and there is also the knock-on effect on involvement in doubles matches.
- Similarly, when deciding whether to start scheduled matches late in the evening (especially men’s 5-set singles matches), the question of whether the players will have sufficient time to finish the match, once started, must be seriously considered. For instance, a doubles match – which can normally be completed in a shorter time – may be substituted for a singles match on a show court, late in the evening.
- The availability of players and matches, and the position on other show courts, can also sometimes make alterations unavoidable to evening schedules. Such decisions can often only be made at very short notice, and may not be understood by disappointed spectators who will not be aware of all the factors involved in the decision. Sometimes the considerations of fairness, completion of the events, and the health and interests of the players, will rightly take precedence over the expectations of spectators.
- During periods of bad weather, also, the possibility of having to switch matches from court to court has to be considered.
- In the interests of The Championships and of the Wimbledon crowds, and also of domestic and international television and press, every effort is made to put the best players and the best matches on the show courts. Six show courts are specially programmed. These, in order of seating capacity, are Centre, No.1, Courts 2, 11, 3 and 18. There other 11 Championships courts will also host many excellent matches.
- Exciting players with great crowd-appeal naturally tend to get the lion’s share of Centre Court in particular, and of No.1 Court, especially when they have a good or close match in prospect. The audiences on Centre Court and No.1 Court, and the much larger audiences worldwide watching television, expect to see the top, well-known, players – preferably in great matches.
- There can be difficult problems of choice between: (a) matches involving players who are not highly seeded but who are major crowd-pleasers, and (b) matches involving the top-seeded players.
- Centre and No.1 Courts are quite different in atmosphere and challenge from all other courts at Wimbledon. The Referee tries to make sure that the top seeds have reasonably similar numbers of appearances on the premier courts before they reach a crucial stage in The Championships. There has to be fairness and justice in the number of appearances of the top seeds on Centre Court and No.1 Court, to avoid unfair familiarity with those courts as between players. A just and fair pattern of appearances is regarded as critical in the world’s premier tennis championships.
- It should also be remembered that, with respect to top seeds and ‘idols’, it is easier on the show courts to maintain security and ensure the safety of the top players. This understandable bias has to be regularly monitored and adjusted where possible for the sake of fairness.
- Scheduling the day’s best matches between Centre and No.1 Courts can often be difficult, especially during the later stages of The Championships. Every effort is made to provide a first-class programme on No.1 Court, but there are more spectators on Centre Court, and there is a ticket price differential between them. While the national and worldwide TV audience can of course be shown matches from either court, even internationally there is a special magic attaching to the Centre Court for audiences and the media. Also, other factors listed in this sheet may affect Centre Court scheduling in the second week.
- It is obviously difficult to predict the length of particular matches, whether best of 3 sets, or best of 5 sets, but it always has to be borne in mind that if two 5-set matches are scheduled which actually go the full distance to 5 sets on (say) Centre Court, there may be only two matches that day on that Court.
- Some Championships days are particularly difficult to schedule to satisfy everybody – including British hopes, and the crowds. On the second Monday, there are normally 16 players left in the Men’s Singles, and 16 players left in the Ladies’ Singles – a total of 16 matches which ideally have to be played on that day. Only 6 of those matches can be played on the Centre Court and No.1 Court, leaving 10 to be played on the outer courts. Priority for the principal show courts has to be given to the most attractive matches involving top seeds.
- Wimbledon is the premier tennis tournament, and is also one of the world’s most popular and prestigious sporting events of any kind. It is televised worldwide. The largely British audience on Centre Court, for example, cannot be the only consideration, however much some of them and some of the media, may wish to see a British player there.
- Wimbledon has to be seen to be even-handed and fair, giving due weight to local and national sentiment, but maintaining an international approach. Good sense and fairness have to take precedence over sentiment and nationalism. Wimbledon has to command respect, as the world’s leading tournament, if the best international players are to keep coming.
- Because this premier Grand Slam Championship is staged in Britain, some preference may reasonably be given to British players where appropriate, provided this is not outweighed by other factors more crucial to the interests of The Championships. (A similar approach is adopted, in respect of home players, at other Grand Slam tournaments, eg: the French and US Opens).
- The Referee has considerable informal liaison with players and coaches, and also with the ATP and the WTA. Wishes or preferences expressed by these individuals or bodies are sympathetically considered when they are not inconsistent with other key factors. Naturally, the ATP and the WTA keep a close eye on the fairness aspects of order of play decisions. Scheduling decisions thought to be sensitive by the Referee or Committee may sometimes be informally checked out by the Referee with the player or coach.
- Wishes and preferences expressed by the media are given consideration.
- It should be noted that often no one, apart from the Referee and the Order of Play Committee, can be aware of all the factors involved in any particular order of play decision, including all the inputs of information which have contributed to it.
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