Wimbledon has become extremely slow !

The Slazenger Wimbledon ball, slows the game down just as much as the grass change.

Anyone who has ever played with them knows they are bigger, heavier,fluff up extremely fast, and 1 out of every 10 does not have the correct air pressure.

If they want to make Wimbledon fast again all they need to do is switch to the
Penn ATP ball, those are the fastest.
 
Noveson said:
:rolleyes: It was just on tv. Plus your own opinion:lol:, man don't even know what to say that.
Click to expand...
take it as a joke, cause it was meant as one ;)

Fish said the balls bounce up more and you have time, no where did he say they were extremely slow or slow as green clay or anything like that.
Click to expand...
I never claimed it would be green clay. And he said it got slower and the balls got heavier. And that is the point!

Whose the other three?
Click to expand...
Bartoli, Henman and Gulbis
 
mozzer said:
So why was the record number of aces set at the FO?
Click to expand...
You just admitted that RG is so much faster now by that comment. I've watched enough Wimbledon to know it hasn't changed. Just the style of play as changed. So easy to pass players with weaker games like S&V that are one dimensional. You gotta be great at the baseline now to stand a chance on any surface unless you are Karlovic. lol
 
Azzurri said:
I have officially placed you on my ignore list. I cannot possibly stand to read anymore of your nonsense any longer. how you have not been permanently banned is beyond me.
Click to expand...
I could care less what you think about me. But you obviously need to chill out and not take the board so seriously. Especially how seriously you take this topic. I did say Wimbledon is slightly slower now since 2001.
 
Nadal_Freak said:
You just admitted that RG is so much faster now by that comment. I've watched enough Wimbledon to know it hasn't changed. Just the style of play as changed. So easy to pass players with weaker games like S&V that are one dimensional. You gotta be great at the baseline now to stand a chance on any surface unless you are Karlovic. lol
Click to expand...
If that comment "admitted that RG is so much faster now," it must also admit that grass is slower than clay, since Karlovic had more aces at RG than at Wimbledon.

Obviously it means that you can ace anywhere, especially if you're Karlovic.
 
ChanceEncounter said:
If that comment "admitted that RG is so much faster now," it must also admit that grass is slower than clay, since Karlovic had more aces at RG than at Wimbledon.

Obviously it means that you can ace anywhere, especially if you're Karlovic.
Click to expand...
Karlovic is so great with angles. Speed of surface doesn't seem to matter much with him. Tsonga is a different story though. He is not an ace machine on clay courts. He did do it at Wimbledon though but his problem is he needs a rhythm to work off of and grass is too fast to help him in other areas like baseline rhythm.
 
Woodforde said that the grass has been slowed a lot this year compared to last year. He said a lot of players have told him this in the locker rooms this year.
 
TheNatural said:
Woodforde said that the grass has been slowed a lot this year compared to last year. He said a lot of players have told him this in the locker rooms this year.
Click to expand...
This is getting old. People with real eyes can see nothing has changed. It's just an attempt to make things faster. Actually I would like things to be faster to stop all this whining. Maybe they should switch Wimbledon to wood to satisfy these fastcourt ****s.
 
it defininitely slower compared to even 2001...i am just suprised they didnt speed it up (either court or balls) this year for murray..
 
Nadal_Freak said:
This is getting old. People with real eyes can see nothing has changed. It's just an attempt to make things faster. Actually I would like things to be faster to stop all this whining. Maybe they should switch Wimbledon to wood to satisfy these fastcourt ****s.
Click to expand...
So people who agree with you have "real eyes," and people who disagree don't.

Okay... Glad to know your stance.
 
Nadal_Freak said:
Nope. Try again. Wimbledon has changed less than RG. Nadal is full responsible of RG change. Fed had nothing to do with Wimbledon.
Click to expand...
RG hasn't changed were are you getting this from and why would you think that they changed RG so that rafa will lose does that even make sense
 
prosealster said:
it defininitely slower compared to even 2001...i am just suprised they didnt speed it up (either court or balls) this year for murray..
Click to expand...
Yes Murray is loving Wimbledon this year. Just the right speed for him. He can still play defense in these conditions while his serve is untouchable.
 
Nadal_Freak said:
This is getting old. People with real eyes can see nothing has changed. It's just an attempt to make things faster. Actually I would like things to be faster to stop all this whining. Maybe they should switch Wimbledon to wood to satisfy these fastcourt ****s.
Click to expand...
So then that means nothing at RG has changed neither ;)
 
Sorry, but the grass has definitely been slowed down. Players today aren't passing any better than Sampras, Agassi, or Becker were in the mid 90's. Look at some highlights.

Federer comes into the net more at the USO than at Wimbledon. He has come in less each year since 2003. That's a pretty good indicator that Wimbledon has slowed down.

But also, the bounce of the ball is clearly higher than years ago. And of course the reliable bounce reduces the impetus to come to net.

My suggestion is to let the grass grow longer, which would make balls skid more and not bounce as high. It would also alleviate the problem with the baseline being worn out as much.
 
prosealster said:
it defininitely slower compared to even 2001...i am just suprised they didnt speed it up (either court or balls) this year for murray..
Click to expand...
If they speed up wimbledon for Murray his chances will be greater than winning the US open provided its faster than hardcourts
 
dh003i said:
Sorry, but the grass has definitely been slowed down. Players today aren't passing any better than Sampras, Agassi, or Becker were in the mid 90's. Look at some highlights.

Federer comes into the net more at the USO than at Wimbledon. He has come in less each year since 2003. That's a pretty good indicator that Wimbledon has slowed down.

But also, the bounce of the ball is clearly higher than years ago. And of course the reliable bounce reduces the impetus to come to net.

My suggestion is to let the grass grow longer, which would make balls skid more and not bounce as high. It would also alleviate the problem with the baseline being worn out as much.
Click to expand...
I agree with this notice around the net the grass is completely fresh like no one stepped foot on it but the baseline already looks like left overs from RG
 
Nadal_Freak said:
This is getting old. People with real eyes can see nothing has changed. It's just an attempt to make things faster. Actually I would like things to be faster to stop all this whining. Maybe they should switch Wimbledon to wood to satisfy these fastcourt ****s.
Click to expand...

Why would Woodforde lie, he said hes spoken to a lot of players in the locker rooms and they've all said the grass has been slowed a lot this year compared to last year. Personally I can't really tell from the TV especially since Wimbledon was a year ago and that's too long ago for me to be able to compare, but the players would know and if they say it has slowed a lot since last year then it must have.

I noticed that Fed was getting to many more balls in defense than I'm used to seeing people get to on the grass.The slower conditions could be working in his favor.
 
TheNatural said:
Why would Woodforde lie, he said hes spoken to a lot of players in the locker rooms and they've all said the grass has been slowed a lot this year compared to last year. Personally I can't really tell from the TV especially since Wimbledon was a year ago and that's too long ago for me to be able to compare, but the players would know and if they say it has slowed a lot since last year then it must have.

I noticed that Fed was getting to many more balls in defense than I'm used to seeing people get to on the grass.The slower conditions could be working in his favor.
Click to expand...
Fed loves low bouncing and fast surfaces. He is loving how the grass is hitting right to his strike zone. I wish it did slow down. I just don't see it. I've watched a ton of Wimbledon to. RG is however way faster.
 
What could they possibly be doing to the grass to keep slowing it down so drastically every year. This is getting a bit out of control you guys. The grass is not slow, and every year it's the same old thing. "The grass is so much slower than last year!" Well if that's true it must be mud from day 1 now, because every year they are "ruining" it compared to the last. But from what I've seen the bounce looks low and the play looks fast.

Seems to me like it's mostly Federer fans complaining, but the truth of the matter is that Federer stated to Pete Sampras himself that the grass has not changed since Pete stopped playing. So everyone is saying different things.

I could easily believe that the balls are making a difference. The Slazenger wimbledon ball is a pretty heavy duty thing, as far as tennis balls are concerned. It's pretty much all I play with if I can. Definitely a heavier ball than just about anything else.

There is only so much you can do with grass. It's just grass on dirt. Pack it harder, cut it shorter, different types of grass...that's about it. But it's still grass on dirt!

You know if you watch the US Open from just 10 years ago I think they were playing a lot "faster" then too. The fact of the matter is that spin is much more important now than it used to be. Has anyone ever thought that maybe the entire game is slower in general because of more spin/baseline rallies than the flattish driving strokes of yesteryear? Tennis practically looks like a giant game of ping pong now. I'm sure it's a LOT of things all adding up...as someone else stated the clay court guys are going down, so it's obviously not that slow. Not to mention Venus' great success here vs. her failing just about everywhere else. There HAS to be a reason for that, and simply saying "they are changing the grass!" holds no water.
 
TennisandMusic said:
What could they possibly be doing to the grass to keep slowing it down so drastically every year. This is getting a bit out of control you guys. The grass is not slow, and every year it's the same old thing. "The grass is so much slower than last year!" Well if that's true it must be mud from day 1 now, because every year they are "ruining" it compared to the last. But from what I've seen the bounce looks low and the play looks fast.

Seems to me like it's mostly Federer fans complaining, but the truth of the matter is that Federer stated to Pete Sampras himself that the grass has not changed since Pete stopped playing. So everyone is saying different things.

I could easily believe that the balls are making a difference. The Slazenger wimbledon ball is a pretty heavy duty thing, as far as tennis balls are concerned. It's pretty much all I play with if I can. Definitely a heavier ball than just about anything else.

There is only so much you can do with grass. It's just grass on dirt. Pack it harder, cut it shorter, different types of grass...that's about it. But it's still grass on dirt!

You know if you watch the US Open from just 10 years ago I think they were playing a lot "faster" then too. The fact of the matter is that spin is much more important now than it used to be. Has anyone ever thought that maybe the entire game is slower in general because of more spin/baseline rallies than the flattish driving strokes of yesteryear? Tennis practically looks like a giant game of ping pong now. I'm sure it's a LOT of things all adding up...as someone else stated the clay court guys are going down, so it's obviously not that slow. Not to mention Venus' great success here vs. her failing just about everywhere else. There HAS to be a reason for that, and simply saying "they are changing the grass!" holds no water.
Click to expand...
Venus is pretty good at the US Open but the French Open and Aussie Open is way too slow for her. Great proof right there. Great post. Why do people constantly worry about the court speed at Wimbledon?
 
Nadal_Freak said:
Venus is pretty good at the US Open but the French Open and Aussie Open is way too slow for her. Great proof right there. Great post. Why do people constantly worry about the court speed at Wimbledon?
Click to expand...

Because people can't stand that Nadal won it fair and square. The "green clay" talk started directly after Nadal started having success there.

How did Roddick make it so deep from 03-05 if this was the case however? Did the grass have a huge change from 05 to 06? Not really. It's really a subject that should be dropped.
 
Lsmkenpo said:
Good article about the changing of the Wimbledon courts.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1815724,00.html
Click to expand...

Yes good article. In 2001 the courts were changed a bit to increase durability, as everyone has known for the last 8 years. However people are saying the courts are slowing down every year.

I especially like this quote:

"And they say any grass still presents a special challenge best mastered by players who have a smooth, flowing style and attack with a steady momentum."

I've played on a few different grass courts. It is so radically different from hard court and clay, that anyone who tries to compare them is being silly.
 
while watching on TV, the grass does appear slower on heavy topspin shots and there the ball seems to just sit up longer than say fast hard courts. But well hit slices or flat bombs still appear to be as effective as in the past. Now we don't have many players who hit too flat or use a lot of slices, so hard to tell if grass has indeed slowed down. But if Safina ends up defeating Venus here and goes on to win the title, I will believe it :)
 
pinot76 said:
while watching on TV, the grass does appear slower on heavy topspin shots and there the ball seems to just sit up longer than say fast hard courts. But well hit slices or flat bombs still appear to be as effective as in the past. Now we don't have many players who hit too flat or use a lot of slices, so hard to tell if grass has indeed slowed down. But if Safina ends up defeating Venus here and goes on to win the title, I will believe it :)
Click to expand...

I disagree. Watch it closely. It's a lower bounce than hard courts (do you really think a low friction soft surface is going to have more bounce than concrete?) but the forward velocity of the ball slows down a bit more. On a hard court you can wait for the ball to "come to you" after the bounce. On grass you have to run to it, because the shot dies. I know from playing on it, including at Mission Hills. The low bounce gives you less time to react, get too, and set up your shot. This is one reason why grass favors the better athletes and shotmakers, hence why Nadal and Federer have been a cut above everyone by far on this surface in the last few years (several years in Federer's case).
 
Nadal_Freak said:
This is getting old. People with real eyes can see nothing has changed. It's just an attempt to make things faster. Actually I would like things to be faster to stop all this whining. Maybe they should switch Wimbledon to wood to satisfy these fastcourt ****s.
Click to expand...

This Nadal Freak guy is ridiculous. You really think that you have the ability to see slight differences in speed of an extremely small ball over your television set? Even worse, you think that your perception that there has been no change negates what the pros, who play on the surface, think.

Nadal himself even said in an interview once that Clay has gotten faster while hard court and grass have gotten slower.
 
goforgold99 said:
take it as a joke, cause it was meant as one ;)


I never claimed it would be green clay. And he said it got slower and the balls got heavier. And that is the point!


Bartoli, Henman and Gulbis
Click to expand...

Oh haha I take back my eye rolling then. It did get slower, not even going to argue with you. I took you for a troll when there wasn't one. I think it is unfair when people try to diminish Nadal's hard work and accomplishments.

All-rounder said:
One thing I am definitely sure on is that the speed of Wimbledon in 2001 is not the same as 2009
Click to expand...

For sure.
 
All-rounder said:
One thing I am definitely sure on is that the speed of Wimbledon in 2001 is not the same as 2009
Click to expand...

Yes that is correct. It is widely known they changed the grass for 2002.

But what is also certain is speed of Wimbledon in 2002 is the same as in 2009. The grass is the same.
 
gj011 said:
Yes that is correct. It is widely known they changed the grass for 2002.

But what is also certain is speed of Wimbledon in 2002 is the same as in 2009. The grass is the same.
Click to expand...
I'm glad you feel the same way. Bartoli's claim I find the weakest of them all. She hasn't done anything in awhile. It's her decline more being the factor of her not doing well this year.
 
TennisandMusic said:
Yes good article. In 2001 the courts were changed a bit to increase durability, as everyone has known for the last 8 years. However people are saying the courts are slowing down every year.

I especially like this quote:

"And they say any grass still presents a special challenge best mastered by players who have a smooth, flowing style and attack with a steady momentum."

I've played on a few different grass courts. It is so radically different from hard court and clay, that anyone who tries to compare them is being silly.
Click to expand...




Have you ever played on the Wimbledon courts though? No.



Nearly every professional players who played on the surface say it is MUCH slower. It is a combination of the surface, the way the game is played now, and the heavier balls. All of this contributes to a much slower game on grass. It is quite obvious that alot of players really are having trouble hitting through this court currently.



I think it is very hard to argue with analysis from the BBC, former Wimbledon CEO, professional players, commentators, and former professional players.
 
Nadal_Freak said:
I'm glad you feel the same way. Bartoli's claim I find the weakest of them all. She hasn't done anything in awhile. It's her decline more being the factor of her not doing well this year.
Click to expand...


You sir, have no right to argue anything related to surface speed when you say you have a better view of surface speeds than a professional player.
 
NamRanger said:
Have you ever played on the Wimbledon courts though? No.



Nearly every professional players who played on the surface say it is MUCH slower. It is a combination of the surface, the way the game is played now, and the heavier balls. All of this contributes to a much slower game on grass. It is quite obvious that alot of players really are having trouble hitting through this court currently.



I think it is very hard to argue with analysis from the BBC, former Wimbledon CEO, professional players, commentators, and former professional players.
Click to expand...
They practically ask everyone how the surface is playing. They keep the ones that say it is faster. Verdasco was the only one I saw interviewed and he said it is very fast.
 
Nadal_Freak said:
They practically ask everyone how the surface is playing. They keep the ones that say it is faster. Verdasco was the only one I saw interviewed and he said it is very fast.
Click to expand...



Yes, so fast that Djokovic and Benneteau were engaging in 20-30 shot rallies. Extremely fast surface there.



So who are you going to trust? My multiple sources from every corner of the Earth (including many professional players, Wimbledon officials, former professional players, BBC Sports, etc.) or Fernando Verdasco? It would be one thing if everyone was saying it is still fast. However, it's clearly not, considering everyone has said it is much slower.
 
Last edited:
TennisandMusic said:
Because people can't stand that Nadal won it fair and square. The "green clay" talk started directly after Nadal started having success there.

How did Roddick make it so deep from 03-05 if this was the case however? Did the grass have a huge change from 05 to 06? Not really. It's really a subject that should be dropped.
Click to expand...

So true!
10char
 
Nadal_Freak said:
Yawn. Another one of these threads. Henman is still making excuses for his tough losses. Anyone that watched tennis today saw how many unreturned serves there were.
Click to expand...

Maybe..

But the baseline rallies look really slow for grasscourt tennis. :-|
 
Blinkism said:
So true!
10char
Click to expand...

Actually, patently untrue:

Check the dates:

Groundsman quick to defend 'slower' courts

By Richard Eaton


Monday, 23 June 2003

..."There has been an effort to slow the game down and I question whether it's gone a little bit too far on grass," Henman said. "If it was a cricket pitch, would it be prepared to suit the style of our team? I'm sure it would be."...

One important aim, however, is to make the grass more playable for all the players. "We hope that with time it may encourage more of the clay court players to come," Seaward [head groundskeeper at Wimbledon] emphasises. "We want to help them get over the mind barrier [against grass]. It would be good for the tournament and good for the game."
Click to expand...

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/groundsman-quick-to-defend-slower-courts-541560.html

Henman bemoans the new go-slower court

By John Parsons
Published: 12:01AM BST 11 Jun 2003
Click to expand...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/atptour/2405794/Henman-bemoans-the-new-go-slower-court.html

Pace of change exaggerated by Henman, insists groundsman

By John Roberts at Wimbledon


Thursday, 24 June 2004

...The experienced Swedish competitor Jonas Bjorkman said in 2002 that it was strange that Centre Court was playing almost as slow as a clay court...
Click to expand...

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...ated-by-henman-insists-groundsman-733292.html


July 04, 2005
The Last Days Of The Serve-and-volleyer
ET TU, WIMBLEDON?
S.L. Price

...Over the last five years the All England Club's measures to slow the game--thickening the grass, depressurizing the balls--have been so successful that Wimbledon has actually taken the lead in killing off the grass-court style....
Click to expand...

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1111982/index.htm

Thursday, 23 June, 2005, 09:36 GMT 10:36 UK

The grass is always slower
By Sarah Holt
BBC Sport at Wimbledon

...Greg Rusedski claimed Wimbledon purposely slowed the courts in 2001 and this year American Taylor Dent agreed they have been getting slower each time he plays here.

Organisers started to use 100% perennial ryegrass seed in 2001 to provide a stronger grass more able to take the wear-and-tear of two weeks of continual usage.

"What Tim is saying is absolutely true," agrees John Lloyd, BBC Sport commentator and two-time Wimbledon mixed doubles champion....
Click to expand...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/4121364.stm

June 23, 2005, 10:01 AM ET
At its roots, Wimbledon is about the grass

By Barry Lorge
Special to ESPN.com

..."It's much slower, the bounce is much truer, and the subsurface is much harder," says Cliff Drysdale, a singles semifinalist here in 1965 who is now an ESPN commentator. "The ball bounces up, so you can hit it, which did not used to be the case. It's so much more like playing on a hard court now, it's unbelievable...

...All grass is different, but today it was pretty slow – very slow – and it felt very soft," said Hewitt, who played on Court 1....
Click to expand...

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/wimbledon05/news/story?id=2090997

Records of a certain player type at Wimbledon established primarily before the change of the surface:

Kuerten: 7-5
Andres Gomez: 8-7
Bruguera: 4-4 DNP '91-'93, '95-'00
Rios: 3-3
Moya: 7-8
Albert Costa: 2-5 DNP '97, '00-'05
Corretja: 2-4 DNP '92, '93, '95-'97, '99-'04
Gaudio: 0-3
Muster: 0-4 DNP '88, '91-'95, '99

Albert Costa competed five times during his 13-year career but didn't bother to show up in 2002 when he won Roland Garros and could have attempted the rare French Open-Wimbledon double, last achieved by Bjorn Borg in 1980.

Costa, now retired and coaching Feliciano Lopez of Spain, said he has misgivings about that decision.

"Now I regret for sure that I was not playing more times," he says, "especially with the heavier balls and slower conditions."

Of course, maybe it wasn't a bad decision: Costa won just one match in five trips.

Top-ranked Roger Federer attributes some of the recent success to the Nadal effect.

"Rafa actually has been able to change mentality around for the Spanish players, because he's showing them that it is possible to play well with an aggressive baseline game," the five-time defending champion says.

Almagro agreed, saying that both Nadal and Ferrer had given the other Spaniards a pep talk before Wimbledon.

"They told us if we play the same way as clay, we can do well," he said
Click to expand...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2008-06-25-spanish-success_N.htm

5
 
Last edited:
its slowed down. but its still quick.

i would rather nadal win wimbledon than karlovic.....man if karlovic won wimbledon i would cry myself to a slow and very painful death
 
galactico said:
its slowed down. but its still quick.

i would rather nadal win wimbledon than karlovic.....man if karlovic won wimbledon i would cry myself to a slow and very painful death
Click to expand...

An unwarranted fear based on the history of Wimbledon:

Count the number of men's Wimbledon Champions who possessed THE biggest serves but big holes in their games of any era:

Colin Dibley
Roscoe Tanner
Greg Rusedski
Earlier Andy Roddick


The Championship tally is zero.

5
 
FiveO said:
Actually, patently untrue:

Check the dates:



http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/groundsman-quick-to-defend-slower-courts-541560.html



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/atptour/2405794/Henman-bemoans-the-new-go-slower-court.html



http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...ated-by-henman-insists-groundsman-733292.html




http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1111982/index.htm



http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/4121364.stm



http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/wimbledon05/news/story?id=2090997

Records of a certain player type at Wimbledon established primarily before the change of the surface:

Kuerten: 7-5
Andres Gomez: 8-7
Bruguera: 4-4 DNP '91-'93, '95-'00
Rios: 3-3
Moya: 7-8
Albert Costa: 2-5 DNP '97, '00-'05
Corretja: 2-4 DNP '92, '93, '95-'97, '99-'04
Gaudio: 0-3
Muster: 0-4 DNP '88, '91-'95, '99



http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2008-06-25-spanish-success_N.htm

5
Click to expand...




You know the funny part is I'm sure Henman would probably know best among the pros, since he actually is very involved with the LTA and AELTC.
 
I'm not an expert, but it certainly looks slow to me. And no, I am not trying to discredit nadal's win by saying it is slow, because federer also won on that slow grass. Grass is suppose to be a surface where serve and volley is primarily dominant and all I see are long baseline rallies and occasionally people coming to net. I don't know if that has to do with the surface, technology, or the fact that people just don't know how to volley that well. I suppose it's a combination of both.
 
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