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Wimbledon organizers have unveiled a new plan to ensure the tournament finishes on schedule, as persistent rain has caused significant delays. The mixed doubles final, originally set for Thursday, has been rescheduled to Sunday due to the backlog.
Nine first-round matches in the mixed doubles category were still incomplete by Tuesday afternoon. Rain has disrupted play on seven out of the first nine days, with doubles matches being particularly affected.
Tournament director Jamie Baker announced that the women’s doubles final will now take place on Saturday instead of Sunday to make room for the mixed doubles final. “This gives us the maximum flexibility to complete the Championships on time and to play all of the respective finals on Centre Court,” Baker stated.
Chief executive Sally Bolton expressed confidence in the revised schedule. “We now have an extra day, we’ve got the two roofs, so, in terms of resilience to get through the Championships, we’re confident we can still do that despite the continuing variability of the weather,” Bolton said.
Wimbledon may consider using the indoor tennis center across the road from the main site as a last resort, although the courts are hard rather than grass. “We’ve got a range of contingencies. Going indoors is one of those options but that really would be a bit of a last resort,” Bolton noted.
Wimbledon extended the tournament to 14 days two years ago by adding play on the middle Sunday, a move initially intended for weather-related backlogs. Additionally, the mixed doubles format has been altered to shorten matches, with matches now being decided by a 10-point tie-break if teams are level after two sets.
Attendance in the first week dropped by 3.7%, from 293,681 last year to 282,955 visitors, which Bolton attributed to the poor weather.
Fortunately, the latest BBC Weather forecast suggests that there will be less rain and more dry spells for the remainder of the week, providing hope that the tournament can be completed as planned.
