Game Set Match

As The Championships at Wimbledon drew to a close, we caught up with Head of Courts and Horticulture, Neil Stubley, to discuss the preparations and challenges.

2023 didn't start with the best weather for opening the courts. How did this affect the overall preparations for the tournament?

April and May this year have certainly been challenging. It felt like we completely missed a traditional spring and went from a cold/wet May straight into 30-degrees. The Met Office's Mike Kendon said: "June turned out to be the hottest on record for the UK - for both mean and average maximum temperature."

This weather meant that our court preparations got off to a good start, as early April was warm, but through the month the cold weather slowed everything down. Our target of opening the grass courts for Members in mid-May wasn't achievable and we finally got play under way late May. Thankfully, with the steady weather through June, it allowed us to catch up and get the courts to the condition that we would expect in readiness for the two-week Grand Slam.

What were the main challenges this year?

As in most years, we must plan for, or assume, a variety of weather situations for The Championships. Cold and wet, or warm and dry will both have their challenges. The key to a successful Championships is to make sure the renovations from the previous year have gone to plan and the autumn/winter maintenance programme has been followed. We should enter the grass court season with a healthy sward which can withstand the various weather patterns.

How/did this differ from previous years?

When you have worked in our industry for many years, you realise that no two seasons ever seem to follow the norm; this year hasn't been any different. Having the ability to change and slightly tweak programmes, but still achieve the same outcomes, has always been key. We as an industry, whether on the world stage or a local club, have dedicated people who think on their feet and adapt - which is something we can be proud of.

Has perception of the courts and the challenges you face improved over time with tv and media?

Whichever sport you work in, there has been an increase over the past twenty years. We do extensive research with STRI on all aspects of grass court agronomy - from seed cultivars, soils, nutrient programmes, irrigation and machinery to make sure we can be the very best we can. With this expectation comes the pressure to improve each year, something I think the team embrace, and are always challenging themselves to find that 1% improvement each year.

The standard of sport now is as good as ever and I'm a big believer that this can only happen because of the high standards you see through all sports on their playing surfaces.

With the ever-changing landscape of products and fungicide removal, plus more legislation to jump through, how do you adapt to that?

As part of our Trial works, we will look at being more sustainable and less reliant on chemicals. This can be through better drought/wear/disease tolerant grass varieties through to our steaming programme which we started in 2017. This process has allowed us to clean the soil profile and better manage the courts.

Have you utilised any new equipment over the past twelve months and/or what is the one piece of kit you couldn't live without?

The Koro has been a major benefit to managing the quality of the grass sward. The better we can establish the desirable grass, the better we can produce consistent courts that react exactly how we would expect them to. This, along with our regular steam sterilising, has allowed us to be in full control.

How often do you monitor data and plant stress during the tournament, or is there little that can be done at that point to prevent the excessive wear?

By the time The Championships start, there isn't much we can change; its essentially cutting/marking and evening irrigation on all courts. The hard work has been done to make sure the grass plant is as healthy as possible and in its best condition in readiness. During The Championships, we have a team of six agronomists from STRI that will do various data collection from court surface hardness, moisture through the profile, Chlorophyll index, NDVI, court speed and ball rebound. All very important areas that determine how well the courts play.

When/if the roof is used how does this affect turf conditions?

It helps us to maintain a constant. When the roof is open there are many variables such as sunshine and wind which can dry the court surface out quickly and put the grass under stress. When the roof is closed, it maintains a constant temperature and humidity which benefits the grass. The only challenge is that Centre Court and No.1 Court are in constant use as there are no more rain delays due to the use of the roof.

How do operations/surfaces at the Roehampton site (home of the Qualifying Competition) differ from The Championship courts at Wimbledon?

Our thirty Qualifying and Practice Courts at Roehampton are constructed and maintained the same as our 38 main site grass courts. This is important as we are always looking for consistency and, when players move across from the Qualifying Competition to The Championships, there shouldn't be any difference in court performance. We also have another venue that supports The Championships before the Qualifying Competition where we have a further sixteen Championship-standard grass courts for players to use once they come across from the clay court season.

Does your team also look after the horticulture areas of the Wimbledon site?

We have a Horticulture team within the Grounds Department led by our Head Gardener; he has a team of 10 year-round gardeners to maintain our 42-acre facility. We maintain the estate within the team which also includes The Championships overlays around the Grounds.

Our cover article questions professional recognition. What do you think could be done to raise awareness, respect and understanding of the industry?

I think we have come a long way since the 1970's when it felt as though it was an industry looked upon as a job for those without qualifications. I strongly believe one of the reasons there is such a high quality in modern sports is because of the high standards set and delivered by grounds teams. We are heading in the right direction, but we need to focus more on making it an attractive industry for looking to join and get amongst it. Because of the unsociable hours it may require, it will always be a challenge.

How do you find recruitment currently? If it's not an issue to find skilled persons, do you think this is down to the prestigiousness of the club?

Each year, we recruit 12 seasonal staff to support us through the grass court season. Factors such as COVID and Brexit have made recruitment more challenging, but only time will tell if these are a direct cause or if we are seeing a new trend.

All Images © AELTC