Wimbledon late start to prolong 2015 Grass Court Season

Wimbledon organisers have recently confirmed that they will be pushing back the start date for the only grass court Grand Slam tournament in 2015 to 29th June.

By delaying the tournament by one week, the All England Tennis club hopes to “benefit the sport as a whole by creating a three-week gap” that will allow players ample time to recover properly from the French Open and the various clay court tournaments that traditionally lead up to it. It is also hoped that the one week delay will prolong the grass court season, a move that is welcomed by several of the players at this year’s tournament including 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt who has said that “the grass court season has always been too short.”

This significant change also means that other tournaments will have to consider making changes to their schedules, one of the main reasons behind implementing it in 2015. Recognising that “there will be some important consequences for the overall tennis calendar”, executives at the AETC hope that a three-year delay will give the organisers of other major tournaments “enough time” to plan accordingly.