A Trip To Wimbledon

By Solomon Park

Strawberries and cream, impeccably trimmed grass, and crisp white clothes, there is no tournament in the world like Wimbledon. It is here that players like Djokovic, Federer, and Serena Williams have cemented their names in history. Steeped in tradition, Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. And in the modern day, it is the only open still played on grass. That distinction is an important one. Due to the nature of grass, the ball at Wimbledon moves “15 to 20 percent faster than speeds achieved on clay” (Kaufman 17). This means that Wimbledon is not only the oldest tournament, but is arguably the hardest to win.

I have been playing tennis since I was little. So when we were in London, Daniel and I made the trek out to this hallowed place.

On our last day,we decided to leave the main group early and take the train out. Our tour guide, Alfie, led the two of us and a family of three on essentially a private tour through the grounds. I am a massive tennis nerd and this was the coolest experience I have had in a while. We got to see center court, sit behind the interview desk, and learn from Alfie about the history of Wimbledon. To say the grounds team takes their job seriously would be an understatement. During the tournament, the grass is meticulously cut from 15mm to 8mm. They also make use of cutting-edge technology to maintain the courts year-round. A few years back, the

British phenom, Andy Murray, told the grounds team that the ball behaved differently when it landed on the painted lines. After conducting tests, the team concluded that Murray was right. Nowadays, the white lines at Wimbledon are not painted but are instead a “white compound… containing titanium dioxide” (Wimbledon no date). The cherry on top was seeing this massive canvas board with the signatures of almost all the players that attended last year’s Wimbledon.

I got to see the signatures of some of my favorite players including Nick Kyrgios, KC native Jack Sock, and Rafael Nadal.

It might be surprising that, given the status of the tournament, tickets at Wimbledon only range from 8 to 255 pounds. This is because seats are dolled out on a lottery system. By keeping prices low, they hope to make tennis accessible. While some tickets are reserved for resellers, most tickets can only be acquired through this lotto. However, if you luck out, you can still get a ticket by waiting in line for what’s called a “ground pass”. This is much like KU’s tradition of camping for a basketball game. To secure this kind of ticket, visitors will sometimes queue outside of Wimbledon for two days in advance.

As we headed back to London, Daniel and I reflected on our experience. We talked about our journeys with tennis and how we wished we had brought our rackets. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and when I watch Wimbledon, in just a few months, I will certainly think back to this trip.