New Balls Please – No Thanks

The true start of the summer arrived this week, with Wimbledon commencing and for the first time in 27 years there was an Irish interest in the competition. Conor Niland became the first player to qualify for Wimbledon proper, in my lifetime.

During my youth, Wimbledon was always the sporting highlight of the summer, in non World Cup years. The entire street would take out our rackets and play tennis on the road. This enthusiasm for the game normally faded out less than a week after the competition ended, as youngsters failed to emulate the serve of Sampras or the returns of Agassi. There were however always some Borris Becker dives for the ball, which often lead to tears.

Unfortunately Conor Niland did not win his first round match against Mannarino, however the five set match held much drama for the spectators.

In recent years, I have only watched the final in full,  following the rest of the competition through the news or through highlights programmes.

However something struck me during the Niland – Mannarino game, Wimbledon has not really changed since the time of my youth. There are still no gaudy advertisements to be found, the pictures from the lesser courts still come from undesirable angles, the players still wear conservative outfits (due to the rule that all players must wear white and that men must wear sleeves), in fact all that seems to have changed is that centre court now has a roof.

In keeping with tradition, Wimbledon is still shown on terrestrial television, this has generated huge interest in the event. It is not just children throwing themselves around makeshift tennis courts in housing estates that catch the bug. Irish people of all ages seem to have a genuine affection for Wimbledon.

Sport has become massively commercialised over recent years, advertisements are made to distract the viewer's eye from the game and players endorse all manner of products. There has been the short-sighted strategy of selling viewing rights to satellite broadcasters, which generates revenue for the association, but will ultimately reduce grass roots interest in the games.

They say that the only thing new money cannot buy is old money. Wimbledon is firmly old money, refusing to allow its product be used by advertisers and by maintaining its link with the BBC. It has not, unlike so many sporting entities and players, given up on its ideals for commercial reasons.

Wimbledon is quintessentially British, in a sporting context it is the equivalent of the monarchy, and it retains all of the nobility of its bygone empire.

So, I urge my readers, do not wait till the latter stages of the competition before tuning in. Centre Court and Court No. 1 do look magnificent, but watch a game on one of the auxiliary courts to see the tradition of this great tournament.

Signing off,

M.C.