Tennis body plans a greener future for young players
All England Club to host international junior grasscourt events in preparation for Wimbledon
London — Roger Federer would probably make tennis look easy on a court of broken glass so grass definitely holds no fears, as his 18 career titles on the greensward illustrate. Such is Federer’s ease on the surface that had “lawn tennis” remained loyal to its roots and the sport was still played extensively on grass, then it is likely he would have accumulated more than his 100 titles. Eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer is a one-off though. The vast majority of players on Tour do not possess his sleight of hand or his powers of improvisation and for them grass remains a conundrum, especially when opportunities to master the surface are rare. Of the 58 ATP Tour events in 2019, a player can play a maximum of four on grass. Since the US Open switched from grass to hard in 1975 and the Australian Open followed suit in 1988, Wimbledon remains the only Grand Slam played on lawns. It is a similar story on the WTA Tour, which offers only five grasscourt tournaments in a three-week block ...
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