Wimbledon chiefs ignored Andy Murray rule change plea after Novak Djokovic anger
Wimbledon have resisted changing the start times for Centre Court and Court One, despite being urged to do so by some of tennis’ biggest names.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which runs the Grand Slam, have come under pressure from the likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to begin matches earlier. Both Djokovic and Murray were frustrated last year when their matches ran over into a second day on Centre Court.
Wimbledon has an 11pm curfew in place, which means that matches cannot continue long into the night until they are completed, unlike at the other Majors. Djokovic concluded a match against Lorenzo Musetti at the French Open at 3am earlier this year after the contest didn’t start until 10.45pm, but has had very different experiences at Wimbledon.
Last year, his match against Hubert Hurkacz was suspended overnight on Centre Court, forcing him to return the following day to wrap up the win. Although matches on outside courts begin at 11am, those on Centre Court begin at 1.30pm, while Court One matches start at 1pm. It is something that Djokovic believes needs to be changed.
“The matches could be pushed at least to start at 12pm,” he said in 2023. “I think it would make a difference. Obviously curfew is probably something that is much more difficult to change, I understand, because of the community and the residential area we are in.”
He added: “Once the time is over 8pm, you know that there’s a high probability you won’t finish your match. I warmed up around 1pm, something like this. Should you go back to the accommodation, the house nearby, or should you stay? Yesterday I decided to stay. I stayed basically for seven hours waiting for my match to start. That’s a lot.”
Murray clearly agreed, retweeting a post calling for 1:30pm Centre Court starts to be scrapped to allow matches to start at "least an hour earlier". That came after his match against Stefanos Tsitsipas went into a second day.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a backhand in the Men's Singles fourth round match against Hubert Hurkacz
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Their pleas have been heard by AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton, who promised to consider it during the organisation’s annual review, but nothing has changed for the 2024 edition of the Grand Slam. “Historically we’ve always started play on our show courts around early afternoon – and that’s very much about ensuring people have the opportunity to get on court, so we have full courts for when the players will come. That’s still absolutely our intention,” Bolton explained last year.
“The other thing we think about carefully is the fact that when people buy tickets and come to Wimbledon, they want to experience a day at the Championships. That involves seeing some play on outside courts, perhaps getting something to eat, getting some strawberries and cream, we understand that our guests want that whole day.
“As far as the TV audience is concerned, matches are happening at a time when they’re accessible to people. We’re seeing viewing figures that are beyond our expectations and beyond previous years.” Mirror Sport has contacted the AELTC to request comment.