With an eye on the future, SW19 to wring in changes

Technology that allows review of calls; for the first time in 130 years men and women champions to get equal prize money 

MUMBAI: The Wimbledon  this year will be a very different tournament from those in the past. And no, this doesn’t mean that the grass surface is being substituted. That is something unimaginable, ain’t it? But there are two significant changes that will usher in the 2007 edition of the tournament at the All England Club in less than a week’s time.

First, two courts — the Centre Court and Court No. 1 — will be equipped with the ‘Hawk-Eye’ technology, allowing for electronic reviews of close calls. That essentially means doing away with the Cyclops system, that has for so long monitored the service lines and let out a ‘beep!’ on faults.

The second change is, perhaps, the most significant in the 130-year history of the Championships. For the first time  since players began getting paid at the tournament in 1968, the men’s and women’s champions will get the same prize money.

These are significant changes considering the fact that Wimbledon has always signified tradition in every sense of the term. The lush grass courts, the inordinate rain delays, the predominantly white clothing, the strawberries, the cream, the post-match ball... The traditions of Wimbledon come from another age.

Even in terms of advertising, Wimbledon still has four brands that are virtually synonymous with the event — Coca Cola, Robinson’s, Slazenger and Rolex. While the other two majors, the Australian Open and the US Open, bowed to the demands of changing times and changed the nature of the playing surface — from grass to hard — Wimbledon remains the only Grand Slam to still sport grass courts. And that is what makes it special — a tournament that every player wants to win.

But it is not that the tradition has not given way to any change. Rather, the All England Lawn Tennis Club has been doing its best lately to keep up with the changing times. A few years back, the All England Club announced that players will no longer be expected to bow or courtesy to the Royal Box, doing away with one of the tournament’s most enduring traditions.

Last year, American designer Ralph Lauren became the tournament’s first official outfitter and gave the event a stylish makeover. Thus, the tradition of a strict dress code banning colour and flashy corporate logos was done away with. The deal, worth $10 million, also gave Ralph Lauren’s polo logo a visible presence on the court. This brings us to the other notable change — the increase in the number of sponsors over the last few years. Last year, Nestle SA’s Haagen-Dazs became, believe it or faint, the official ice cream supplier and the tournament now boasts of 15 sponsors.

But wait! That’s not all.
There are more changes in the anvil. The most significant of them being the construction of a roof over the Centre Court, expected to be fully operational in 2009. That will consign to history one of the tournament’s oldest traditions — rain delays.

So while other tournaments sacrifice tradition as they embrace modern innovations, in Wimbledon it is tradition itself that breeds modernity. As American Andy Roddick puts it, “The tradition’s always going to be there, with the whites and with the kind of the old school feel around and other stuff, but at the same time, if you feel you can improve your event, I think you have to do it.”