For a remarkable reason, Roger Federer was denied access to the Wimbledon grounds, and Wimbledon tickets are apparently a requirement.
Roger Federer has shared a funny story about a Wimbledon security guard who refused to let him inside the grounds because he wasn’t an All England Club member. Federer is the most successful competitor SW19 has ever seen, with eight victories at The Championships, but he wasn’t allowed to enter the grounds at the first opportunity.
In an interview, the 20-time Grand Slam champion said that he chose to visit Wimbledon for some tea after a doctor’s appointment in London last month because he had some time to kill.
Champions at SW19 are automatically given membership, but it didn’t stop a humorous incident when Federer arrived at the gates without his card.
The former tennis great has said that a security guard refused to let him onto Wimbledon’s grounds for the spontaneous visit because she didn’t think he was a member. “I was in Tokyo for my sponsor, and I came back to Wimbledon to come and visit a doctor to get another operation on my knee,” he admitted on The Daily Show.
“I wasn’t sure if I would have time to visit Wimbledon, so I didn’t want to let them know I was going to be there.” After my doctor’s appointment, I realised I had two hours to spend, so we went to Wimbledon to try to have tea.
Wimbledon 2022: Recalling the last championships
By defeating Nick Kyrgios in the championship match, Novak Djokovic successfully defended his gentlemen’s singles title and won his 21st major championship. The current women’s champion, Ashleigh Barty, did not support her title after quitting tennis in March 2022. Elena Rybakina won the women’s singles title after defeating Ons Jabeur in the championship match.
Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the AELTC disallowed Russian and Belarusian tennis players from competing this year. The WTA, ATP, and ITF responded by withdrawing ranking points from the competition.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee reign ended with this Wimbledon event.
The 2022 championships were the 54th in the Open Era, the 135th edition, the 128th staging of the women’s singles championship event, and the third Grand Slam event of the calendar year.
The event was organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). It was scheduled for the Grand Slam sections of the ATP Tour and WTA Tour in 2022 and the ITF tours for junior and wheelchair tournaments, respectively. For the first time since 2019, the men’s and women’s invitational doubles events returned in this edition. Additionally, a new mixed invitational doubles draw was also introduced.
This was the first time the tournament had a “Middle Sunday” schedule for the first Sunday of the competition. Four exceptions to the custom of postponing competitions on Middle Sunday to accommodate delayed matches during championships severely hampered by rain had occurred before the 2022 edition of the tournament.
In addition, the champions’ tiebreak rule was introduced in this tournament’s final set. This tiebreak was played up to 10 points when a match reaches six games all, to be won by two clear points to win the match, as opposed to 2019 and 2021, which featured a conventional seven-point tiebreak at 12 games all in the final set.
Several past singles champions were invited to a special event on Sunday, July 3, 2022, to recognise the 100th anniversary of the opening of Centre Court in 1922 and the beginning of middle Sunday play. Sue Barker, Clare Balding, and John McEnroe served as the event’s hosts. John McEnroe respected Sue Barker’s thirty years of service as the BBC’s Wimbledon presenter.
The champions were listed chronologically within each category, from the most recent to the earliest, starting with the number of singles titles won.
Ban to be lifted: Wimbledon’s decision to scrap Russian and Belarusian competitors ‘changed nothing’ – Aryna Sabalenka.
Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s fifth-ranked player, claims that Wimbledon’s decision to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the 2022 tournament “changed nothing.”
Following Wimbledon’s imposition of the ban in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Belarusian Sabalenka was one of several elite athletes who missed out on the Grand Slam.
The ATP and WTA later levied fines against the organisers and deducted the competition’s ranking points.
Sabalenka expressed her disappointment that politics had somehow found its way into sports.
“We’re simply athletes doing our sport,” the 24-year-old continued, according to the Australian daily The Age. “I’m done now. Politics are not our focus. We would all act to stop the war if we had any power to do it, but we have none.”
“What changed after they barred us from Wimbledon? Nothing has changed; the unfortunate part of this situation is that they [the Russian government] are still doing it.”
But Sabalenka, who also said that “no one supports war,” is hoping to return to the grass-court major after finding it difficult to witness the action last year.
“It was a difficult moment, and I was dissatisfied with their choice,” she remarked.
“I truly missed the people since Wimbledon has such a fantastic vibe. Wimbledon tickets sell out so quickly. You can see that these folks truly love the game, and I truly miss them.”
“I truly hope to perform there [in 2023] just for the people and to experience the vibe. But if they’re going to prohibit us again, Wimbledon’s decision means nothing to me, and the folks are the only thing I’ll miss.”
However, in good news for anyone with Wimbledon tickets, The ATP Tour vowed to tighten sanctions and bar British tennis players from their events, prompting Wimbledon organisers to reverse their ban on Russian players, according to a report in The Times.
The LTA was penalised by the ATP and WTA for enforcing the ban on Russian players following the event last year, and they also forfeited tournament ranking points.
The question “Were the ATP and WTA correct to penalise the LTA roughly $2 million combined for the 2022 ban?” was posed to Express Sport readers. Nine thousand seven hundred seventy-eight readers answered the survey, with 44.8% saying “yes” and 55.2% saying “no.”
However, Wimbledon attendees agree with the anticipated about-face and believe it is appropriate to let Russian players return to SW19 this year. Should Wimbledon allow players from Belarus and Russia to compete in 2023? 52.9% of respondents chose “yes,” while 47.1% chose “no.”
Whisper to produce Wimbledon stream for two years
In exciting news for fans with Wimbledon tickets, Whisper, a media production firm, has been named the Wimbledon tennis Grand Slam’s production partner for 2023 and 2024.
The official tournament film, the international highlights, the world feed, and the creative preview film will all be made by Whisper.
Creating “entertaining and engaging” content for the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and promoting the Wimbledon brand are other tasks assigned to the production business.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTCPaul ) ‘s Davies, head of broadcast, production, and media rights, stated: “We are incredibly excited to be teaming with Whisper; their production flair and narrative talents will offer fresh, unique content to our expanding worldwide audience. Whisper has altered the face of sports production by collaborating with some of the most popular sports properties, and we are eager to show off their work to our broadcasters, business partners, and on our platforms.
As one of the most watched sporting events in the world, Wimbledon tickets are already selling like hotcakes for 2023. Official websites might not be your greatest option, and the most dependable place to buy tickets is from a reputable reseller.
