Setting the stage at Wimbledon qualifying

Published by Linda Pearce

A UNIQUE SETTING: Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam to stage qualifying outside its main draw venue; Getty Images
Featuring up-and-comers, former stars and players who’ll never be either, Wimbledon’s qualifying event at Roehampton superbly sets the main draw stage.

In the brief window between Maria Sharapova’s decision to contest Wimbledon qualifying rather than face the ignominy of a Roland Garros-style main draw wildcard snub, and the five-time major winner’s subsequent withdrawal with a thigh injury, there were tantalising visions of the debut meeting of a tennis odd couple.

Sharapova: one of the most famous sports faces on the planet. Roehampton: the humblest of Grand Slam qualifying venues.

Indeed, the fact is sometimes overlooked that, due to the unique nature of grass as a playing surface, and the need to nurse the Wimbledon lawns through the demands of The Championships’ fortnight, it is the only one of the big four to be conducted away from the main stage.

As the 2004 champion and a former No.1, Sharapova rarely ventures off-Broadway, and was only planning a brief detour on her journey back from the rankings oblivion of a 15-month doping ban. Instead, she will be spared the visit to the less-manicured but still functional lawns of SW15 after rescheduling her comeback date to July, and the WTA hardcourt tournament in Stanford.

Still, the stage had been set in one respect, with the introduction of five-pound paying spectators (all proceeds to charity) and broadcast partners including the BBC and Eurosport set to venture to the Bank of England Sports Grounds for the first time. Coincidentally, organisers insist. Nothing to do with Maria.

Without her, as ever, the qualifying draws are a mix of the up-and-comers, those in decline, those still hoping, or others – in the Sharapova category – waylaid by circumstance. But, given the contrast in facilities, this one involves something different again. Asked for a three-word description, one five-time Roehampton veteran explained it thus: “test of character”. There is a feeling, he says, “that you just want to get through it to feel like a real player’’.

This year’s entry list tells some familiar stories, and houses some familiar names. Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky completed an extraordinarily early upset of Roger Federer on Wimbledon’s Centre Court in 2013, two years before Australia’s Sam Groth took a set from the Swiss champion on his favourite turf in the third round. Both will be back at Roehampton this week.

My last visit was in 2006, when, fresh off the plane from Australia, and with barely time to drop off a suitcase en route from Heathrow, the first-round clash between fallen child stars and one-time Wimbledon breakthrough artists Jelena Dokic and Alexandra Stevenson beckoned, irresistibly.

The day was (London summer) cool. Windy. Rows and rows of partitioned grasscourts. No grandstands, special treatment, or posh types in Royal Boxes. Stevenson won. Dokic cried. And whatever stars were there on-site were yesterday’s. Or tomorrow’s. Or, well, no-one’s idea of.

Comparing Roehampton to Wimbledon, according to the former player who only ever graduated from one to the other in doubles, is like the contrast between a Mini Cooper and a Rolls Royce in terms of ambience, prestige and the like. In which case, perhaps a way of extending the British car analogy a little further it that that both do the job and can take you where you need to go… it’s just that one tends to deliver a bumpier ride.

Share this: 
  • Most popular articles

30 December 2019

Second-serve return in the men’s game: an exploration

Nick Kyrgios’ first-round win over Andrey Rublev at last year’s Kremlin Cup in Moscow ... More

24 November 2016

GIG: Djokovic the fastest tennis player in the world

Novak Djokovic is the fastest tennis player on the planet, according to new data from Tenn... More

22 September 2017

Tennis’ obscure traits and trends

In the heat and humidity of the recent US Open series, there was a slow-mo nod to a long-r... More

19 February 2016

Tennis player grunts or porn star groans?

Roberta Vinci appeared on Italian TV and was put to the test - were the grunts she was hea... More