WELCOME TO WIMBLEDON

WIMBLEDON, England

Green triggers a special feeling of sports-euphoria in me like no other color. In my younger days I donned the color as I took to the playing fields in the town of Billerica, Massachusetts. It signified an extraordinary sense of school pride.

Green is also the color of Boston’s biggest, bad’est, monster of them all….the Green Monster, that towers over the outfield at my favorite place in the world, Fenway Park. This symbolic structure often intimidates opposing players.

And today, as I walk through the cast- iron gates of the All England Lawn Tennis Club for the first time, I’m taken aback by the abundance of green….courts, balls, fences, and walls….topped off by the lush lawns that blanket all twenty of the coveted tennis courts. On these, the sacred grounds of Wimbledon, green stands for history and tradition.“It’s amazing here,” said 2004 women’s champion Maria Sharapova. “I get goosebumps.”   

“Wimbledon” is the oldest event in tennis, dating back to 1877….and it is widely considered to be the most prestigious, as well. Tradition often takes precedence over contemporary customs here. Players are required to wear all-white, and women working on the grounds don ankle length skirts. I asked one woman, in her twenties, what she thought of the old-school attire. She rolled her eyes, and moaned, “tradition…”

But this year comes a bevy of breakthroughs, slowly ushering in signs of modern reality.

For the first time, women will receive prize money equivalent to their male counterparts.
When Billie Jean King won the first-ever ladies open singles championship, she was awarded $1,500….compared to the $4,000 men’s champion Rod Laver pocketed.
"You know, I think it sends a great message," Serena Williams said. "It’s a step in the right direction, I mean, for not only tennis, but just for women’s sports and just for all women." This year’s prize? A mere $1.5 million.

An exciting piece of technology also debuts today. The “hawkeye” is bringing with it high hopes of making the game more exciting for fans in the form of instant replay.  This high-speed, multi-camera system tracks the ball….and questionable calls are reviewed on screens inside the stadium for all to see.

And finally, Wimbledon is about to “raise the roof.” Literally. A state-of-the-art roof is set to be constructed over center-court to combat the number one enemy of all outdoor events…rain…and the delays it brings with it. Renovations have begun to complete the roof by 2009…giving Center Court a much different feel. “It’s much more bright,” noted defending champion Roger Federer. “It’s definitely going to play different, that’s for sure. More wind being able to come into the stadium,” he adds.

All of these changes should make for an exciting event.   

Stay tuned!

More to come…….