How will the new roof impact Wimbledon matches?

S

svijk

Semi-Pro
Wimbledon unveiled the new roof to the media today and it looks pretty spectacular and next-gen.

Other than preventing rain delays, i'm sure the roof will have an impact in terms of conditions....will it be warmer inside, will the balls travel faster or slower, will the bounce change.....which players will it help more etc etc.

Thoughts?
 
batz

batz

G.O.A.T.
svijk said:
Wimbledon unveiled the new roof to the media today and it looks pretty spectacular and next-gen.

Other than preventing rain delays, i'm sure the roof will have an impact in terms of conditions....will it be warmer inside, will the balls travel faster or slower, will the bounce change.....which players will it help more etc etc.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Nobody knows for sure, but there seems to be concensus that the roof will hav a drying effect that will speed the grass a fraction (the reason it took so many years to get the roof on was not the challenge of the roof per se, but how to stop grass 'sweating' in an enclosed space that's holding 15000 people. That's why it'll take around 30-45 minutes between the time rain starts and play re-commences - it'll take that long for the climate control system to get the humidity to acceptable levels.)

Who will it favour? Murray seems to think it might help him out a little bit - he's pretty handy indoors.
 
l_gonzalez

l_gonzalez

Professional
There was a short interview with the Chief Exec and he said that now with the roof structure in place the court actually gets more light and the ventilation is better. But then again he would say that.

I think the effect on the grass itself will be minimal given that even when there wasn't a roof on they kept the courts under covers throughout the night. So maybe we'll only really know if there is an extended period of rain, say 3-4 days when the roof is kept closed, then we might start to see the effect on the grass.
 
A

Al Czervik

Hall of Fame
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Nadal_Freak

Nadal_Freak

Banned
Cesc Fabregas said:
It wont no chance of rain getting on the grass which will lower the bounce if anything it will help Nadal's chances.
Click to expand...
Nadal prefers to play outdoors. Especially in the sun. Indoor conditions allow for players with weaker conditioning to last longer and zone a little more with no heat or wind being a factor.
 
Ian Stewart

Ian Stewart

Professional
Looks purdy. I love the accordian style

Late night matches at Wimby could be great fun.

Who knows how the court will be affected? I suppose it turns centre court in to a kind of greenhouse, thus increasing humidity. Assuming this is true, you would expect the grass to hold more moisture - thus making the courts slicker (faster). But then I expect they have expensive dehumidifiers and climate control systems installed to compensate.

We shall see.
 
B

bladepdb

Professional
Ian Stewart said:
Looks purdy. I love the accordian style

Late night matches at Wimby could be great fun.

Who knows how the court will be affected? I suppose it turns centre court in to a kind of greenhouse, thus increasing humidity. Assuming this is true, you would expect the grass to hold more moisture - thus making the courts slicker (faster). But then I expect they have expensive dehumidifiers and climate control systems installed to compensate.

We shall see.
Click to expand...

No lighting still, though, I think.

Cesc Fabregas said:
The roof is not going to be on all the time is it?
Click to expand...

No, only if there is rain.
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
The roof favors big servers. Indoor artificial light simply never comes close to having the brightness level of ourdoor light, so returning big serves will be more problematic.
 
Nadal_Freak

Nadal_Freak

Banned
Ian Stewart said:
Looks purdy. I love the accordian style

Late night matches at Wimby could be great fun.

Who knows how the court will be affected? I suppose it turns centre court in to a kind of greenhouse, thus increasing humidity. Assuming this is true, you would expect the grass to hold more moisture - thus making the courts slicker (faster). But then I expect they have expensive dehumidifiers and climate control systems installed to compensate.

We shall see.
Click to expand...
Yeah I hope they can get all the humidity out of the air. They didn't in Hamburg. Nadal would be hurt greatly if it gets humid.
 
B

bladepdb

Professional
jones101 said:
Will the roof make conditions sightly quicker?
Click to expand...

That's what most ppl seem to be pointing at. More humidity = slipperier grass = quicker points due to skidding, etc.

Assuming such is the case, this will definitely help the players with a good slice. For all you *******s out there, this might actually make Fed's backhand slice a little more offensive than just purely defensive.

Now the flip side of that, I can see how conditions might be heavier inside the arena. For players like Nadal and Djokovic who use heavy topspin on both wings, this might be helpful for them to counteract potential volleyers.

Also, because the grass is more slippery, this can actually help players who utilize clay for movement, like Nadal, Djokovic, Fed, etc. Granted, it is a little riskier to control the sliding on a wet grass than on clay, but I definitely see more ball retrieving as a result of this.

I guess what I'm trying to say is IF THE EFFECTS OF THE ROOF ARE AS PREDICTED, we will see some changes in Wimbledon that may be for the better, but at the end of the day players of all styles have the opportunity to benefit from it.
 
Q

quest01

Hall of Fame
I think the new roof will have a positive impact, not only did they install a roof but they also put in lights. That would be nice if they showed a few night matches as they do at the US Open and Australia.
 
B

bladepdb

Professional
Nadal_Freak said:
Nadal prefers to play outdoors. Especially in the sun. Indoor conditions allow for players with weaker conditioning to last longer and zone a little more with no heat or wind being a factor.
Click to expand...

Conditioning is never a major issue at Wimbledon unless you have matches that run consecutive days (due to rain of course, and even that isn't a problem anymore).
 
batz

batz

G.O.A.T.
Nadal_Freak said:
Yeah I hope they can get all the humidity out of the air. They didn't in Hamburg. Nadal would be hurt greatly if it gets humid.
Click to expand...

The MAIN reason that the roof has taken years to develop has nothing to do with the roof itself, but everything to do with the incredbily complex aircon systems that are needed to ensure that the grass does not get slippy due to high humidity. If anything, the aircon systems will have drying effect on the air and the grass.

To repeat - it will not be humid under the roof at Wimbledon.
 
batz

batz

G.O.A.T.
quest01 said:
I think the new roof will have a positive impact, not only did they install a roof but they also put in lights. That would be nice if they showed a few night matches as they do at the US Open and Australia.
Click to expand...

Wimbledon confirmed today that they will play until circa 2200 hours but have no plans for a 'night session'. "Wimbledon is a daytime event" is the quote.
 
Nadal_Freak

Nadal_Freak

Banned
batz said:
The MAIN reason that the roof has taken years to develop has nothing to do with the roof itself, but everything to do with the incredbily complex aircon systems that are needed to ensure that the grass does not get slippy due to high humidity. If anything, the aircon systems will have drying effect on the air and the grass.

To repeat - it will not be humid under the roof at Wimbledon.
Click to expand...
batz said:
Wimbledon confirmed today that they will play until circa 2200 hours but have no plans for a 'night session'. "Wimbledon is a daytime event" is the quote.
Click to expand...

Good news. I love dry and bouncy grass. Also glad they don't have night matches that mess up sleeping habits and less recovery time.
 
Ian Stewart

Ian Stewart

Professional
batz said:
The MAIN reason that the roof has taken years to develop has nothing to do with the roof itself, but everything to do with the incredbily complex aircon systems that are needed to ensure that the grass does not get slippy due to high humidity. If anything, the aircon systems will have drying effect on the air and the grass.

To repeat - it will not be humid under the roof at Wimbledon.
Click to expand...

Could be true. But what evidence do you have that it is true? Were you involved in the build? Have you played under the roof? Do you have any other experience to back up your claim?

Thought not.
 
B

bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
Any word on how quickly they will close the roof?

Is it something they want to utilize to its fullest capacity - basically any time it starts raining they'll look to close the roof.

Or, is it a measure of last resort? So, for example, if it starts raining lightly, but the forecast is for the rain to pass within the hour, will they just put the covers on and wait for the rain to pass?
 
B

bladepdb

Professional
bluetrain4 said:
Any word on how quickly they will close the roof?

Is it something they want to utilize to its fullest capacity - basically any time it starts raining they'll look to close the roof.

Or, is it a measure of last resort? So, for example, if it starts raining lightly, but the forecast is for the rain to pass within the hour, will they just put the covers on and wait for the rain to pass?
Click to expand...

It's 8-10 mins to open & close roof, 20-30 mins for bringing playing conditions back into the arena (it's in the link posted earlier).

They'll look at the conditions 45 mins before a match and if it looks like it might rain (the tournament ref decides), they'll close the roof and play the whole match with roof closed (regardless of whether rains stops) to keep playing conditions constant.
 
batz

batz

G.O.A.T.
Ian Stewart said:
Could be true. But what evidence do you have that it is true? Were you involved in the build? Have you played under the roof? Do you have any other experience to back up your claim?

Thought not.
Click to expand...

I wasn't involved in the build, but I can read. You can too if you go the wimbledon website. There you will find a plethora of information about the new roof, including how the climate control system was years in development.

A snippet from the main page:

The air-management system has a vital role in controlling and stabilising the internal environment within the bowl – essentially controlling humidity and preventing either condensation on the inside of the roof or sweating of the grass – either of which would make the court slippery and unsuitable for play.

The system pumps in 8 litres of conditioned air every second.
 
random guy

random guy

Professional
If it rains for the entire two weeks and he plays all his matches on center court then Nalbandian ftw! :) He's the king of laboratory conditions tennis.
 
The-Champ

The-Champ

Legend
WHAT???????? The rain has been good to Fed :) It rescued him from being beaten by roddick and it saved him from at straight set demolition at the hands of The Rafa last year.


just kidding fed fans. Fed is super great and will surpass pete before he retires!:)
 
gj011

gj011

Banned
I just hope they will be using it in a fair and proper manner, not like in AO where the roof is used to give an advantage to certain players over others.
 
Q

quest01

Hall of Fame
batz said:
Wimbledon confirmed today that they will play until circa 2200 hours but have no plans for a 'night session'. "Wimbledon is a daytime event" is the quote.
Click to expand...

Thats too bad, it would have been nice seeing the first match under the lights at Wimbledon. Oh well maybe some time in the future they may consider.
 
batz

batz

G.O.A.T.
quest01 said:
Thats too bad, it would have been nice seeing the first match under the lights at Wimbledon. Oh well maybe some time in the future they may consider.
Click to expand...

They've clarified that the 2200 quote was just indicative. They will play into the night to a finish if need be, but won't change the scheduling pattern.
 
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