Wimbledon denied being dictated by the BBC on their controversial start time on center court, but highlighted soaring viewership figures to defend their lineup.
Andy Murray would no doubt have remained in the tournament if his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas had not passed the 11 p.m. curfew and had therefore been spread over two days. .”
The article claimed it was time to abandon the “misguided” decision to start matches on Center Court at 1.30pm.
The start time has been pushed back to 1pm in 2021 and, with matches also lasting longer than ever and on-pitch TV interviews sandwiched between matches, the roof is now in frequent use even on dry and dry days. there is almost constant doubt as to whether the scheduled matches will finish.
During the opening week of the Championships, matches only ended twice before 9 p.m. on center court and twice took place on a different day. The Friday and Saturday night schedules were also only completed in time thanks to quick demolition inflicted by defending champion Novak Djokovic and current world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
Sally Bolton, the All England Club’s chief executive, said tee times were constantly being reviewed but argued for the status quo despite the frustrations that have been openly expressed by players like Murray and Djokovic.
“For many, many decades, we always started playing on our show grounds around early afternoon,” she said. “A lot of it is to make sure people have the opportunity to enter the pitch, so where possible we have full pitches for when players are walking. This is always absolutely our intention. And of course the other thing that we think about carefully is the fact that when people buy a ticket to come to Wimbledon they want to experience a day at the Championships and that involves going to see outdoor courts being played, maybe be going for something to eat, strawberries and cream.
“When we get feedback from our fans on the pitch who come here, after buying a ticket, they want a busy day. There’s a whole range of things that go into the decision to start when we do. This will be part of our review as we enter the end of the Championships. We always consider player feedback as well as feedback from all other stakeholders and our guests.
Bolton stressed that Wimbledon still sees itself as “an open-air tournament” and said the BBC was under no pressure to push back start times amid strong evening live viewership figures.
“Broadcasters are one of the stakeholders we consult when we make all the plans for the Championships, but no, they have no direct influence on the start time on the pitch,” he said. she declared. “As far as viewers are concerned, the matches take place at a time when they are accessible to the public. We are seeing audience figures that exceed our expectations and beyond previous years. I think they probably speak for themselves. I don’t think we would seek to reduce the [on-court television] interviews because I think they were extremely well received.
“As we reflect on how we are all working hard to grow the sport of tennis, it’s really important that people see and understand the characters they watch on the courts.
“[Longer matches] are definitely a trend. Whether it’s a negative thing or not, I think the jury is out on that. [We’re] very happy with the way the championships are going. We had an unprecedented demand for tickets. So really, really happy the Championships are back beyond Covid. I think it took several years for the sport to recover properly and so we’re really happy with how it went.
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