Bill Simons
Wimbledon
It’s time to get our Wimbledon vibe going. So let’s get started.
NO PRESSURE, WIMBLEDON, BUT: The tournament’s starting just 22 days after the French Open gave us the best clay court tournament in tennis history. Now, can Wimbledon give us one of its grass court classics? This brings to mind the comment Bud Collins made back in 1983 after watching an incredible Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova battle: “That was the match of the century – at least for this week.”
BACK-TO-BACKS: Can Coco Gauff win the Channel Slam – the French Open and Wimbledon?…Can United States women score an American Slam this year, by winning all the majors in 2025? Madison Keys won in Melbourne and Coco won in Paris…Can Alcaraz win his third straight Wimbledon?…And for that matter, if Sinner wins that will be seven straight Slams for the No. 1 Italian and the No. 2 Spaniard…Can Novak Djokovic reach the final for a sixth straight year? Many consider him to be the third best contender for the title…Can a Czech woman win for the third time in a row?
STILL TRUE AFTER ALL THESE YEARS: Virginia Wade said, “Wimbledon has all the wisdom of a grandmother and the energy of a teen.”
THE WISDOM OF A PRINCESS: Lady Diana was a huge tennis fan and she loved America. So maybe it’s not surprising that she observed, “When all the Americans come in July for Wimbledon, you can feel the energy go up.” Then she added wistfully, “It all collapses again when they leave.”
WIMBLEDON FIRSTS: Sir Andy Murray began playing Wimbledon in 2005, but now he’s retired. For the first time, the men’s and women’s finals won’t have an early afternoon start. To get a bigger worldwide audience, the finals will begin at 4 PM. On the west coast it will still be “Breakfast at Wimbledon,” but for many Americans it will now be “Brunch at Wimbledon.”
Also, there will no longer be any human linespersons here. All the line-calling will be electronic.
SPEAKING OF LINESPERSONS: Linespersons were not the target of John McEnroe’s big three barbs: “You can not be serious!” “You are the pits of the world!” and, “Answer the question!” His trifecta of taunts was directed at chair umpires. Still, linespersons have a storied Wimbledon history, and their very human presence will be missed.
Ivan Lendl once claimed that you had to be 80 to be a linesperson. During a 1964 match, linesperson Dorothy Cavis-Brown, who had just gone to a cocktail party, fell asleep during a match.
Wimbledon linespersons, in their unapologetic purple, green and black retro unies, would march to and from their duties with a certain unmistakable ‘tude. Now they’ll be gone, except about 80 of them, who’ve been thrown a bone. They’ll be on site and serve as “match assistants” – whatever that is.
WIMBLEDON’S ‘TERRIBLE MISTAKE:’ You have to be careful with Wimbledon predictions. In the ’80s we said the dignified fans there would never do the wave at hallowed Centre Court. But then there were many waves during soggy rain delays.
Yesterday Billie Jean King made headlines when she said it was “a terrible mistake” that Wimbledon still had its all-white dress code. But the strictly enforced rule is such a central part of the Wimbledon brand. Yet, traditions are toppling fast at the All-England club.
IS THERE LIFE WITHOUT MAYONNAISE? Wimbledon’s getting going, so let’s visit the most important issue in the game – the food for the media at Slams. Not surprisingly, Wimbledon’s is a notch below the superb cuisine in the French media restaurant. But it’s good, far better than it used to be, and better than the US Open’s. Still, this gets us thinking. The British have adeptly handled the loss of their empire, but sometimes we wonder whether they could survive if they didn’t have their mayonnaise.
GO FIGURE: Since Serena Williams in 2015-2016, there have been seven different women Wimbledon winners.
AMIDST ALL THE WIMBLEDON FINERY, HERE’S A FIRST THAT’S NON-BINARY: No other sport so adeptly combines men’s and women’s competitions. Now, for the first time ever (we think) the word non-binary was used in a Wimbledon press conference. Coco Gauff joked that she wasn’t sure whether the big stuffed strawberry she brought into her presser was male, female or non-binary. BTW: individual strawberries don’t have genders.
SPEAKING OF STRAWBERRIES: Beer is commonplace at football games. Hot dogs have long been a staple with baseball fans. Mint juleps are part of the vibe at the Kentucky Derby. But no other sports event has a better food brand than Wimbledon with its strawberries and cream.
THE BIRTH OF BELIEF: Six years ago, 15-year-old Coco Gauff scored a shock first-round win over Venus Williams. Coco said the win was the start of her belief that she might make her dreams come true.
CINDERELLA IS SQUASHED: Before Roland Garros, France’s Lois Boisson was No. 361 in the world, and most famous for Harriet Dart’s claim that she needed to use deodorant. Then the 22-year old reached the French Open semifinals. Many felt she deserved a wildcard into Wimbledon – but she didn’t get one. Then she lost in the first round of qualies.
DOMINANT – BUT NOT AT WIMBLEDON: Neither of the two dominant WTA players of our era, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, have won Wimbledon. Then again, neither did Monica Seles, Justine Henin or Ivan Lendl. BTW: Sabalenka has never gotten to the finals here, and Swiatek, who was the Wimbledon junior champ, has never reached the semis.
MIXING IT UP ON MIXED DOUBLES: The US Open will be staging a huge, big-name mixed doubles championship during Fan Week, just before the Open starts. The competition, which some say is more like an exhibition, will feature teams like Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, Frances Tiafoe and Madison Keys and Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa. Some say the innovative, high-profile event is questionable, claiming it’s not a real tournament and it denies lesser players who dearly need a hefty paycheck.
But the tourney is drawing huge attention. It was brought up in almost every pre-Wimbledon press conference.
UNFIT TO SERVE: Jannik Sinner, who earlier this year served a three-month drug suspension, supposedly because of the malpractice of his former physio, Giacomo Naldi, who had applied a spray containing a steroid to treat a cut on his own finger. Now Sinner has parted ways with his fitness coach, Marco Panichi, and his new physio, Ulises Badio.
SPEAKING OF SUPPORT TEAMS: Tennis players have agents, coaches, hitting partners, fitness coaches, trainers, mental counselors, brand managers, spiritual advisors and (if you’re named Novak) personal chefs. Jack Draper has a breathing coach.
BAD VIBES AT BAD HOMBURG: After Kazakh Yulia Putintseva lost to Greek Maria Sakkari at the Bad Homburg Open, she went to the net and offered a curt “no-look” handshake, which offended the Greek. Maria told Yulia, “Nobody likes you,” and, “When you shake hands with someone, look them in the eye. Just be like a human being.”
Putintseva responded with a sarcastic bow and a curtsy. The Kazakh, who was widely criticized last September for rudely ignoring a US Open ballgirl, then went to social media, showing Sakkari’s past losses where she didn’t make eye contact during her handshakes.
