Tim Henman defends Wimbledon courts after Serena Williams injury retirement

Tin Henman has defended Wimbledon’s ‘slippery’ courts after Serena Williams was forced to retire from the Championships in the first-round after injuring her ankle on Centre Court.

Barely an hour after Adrian Mannarino slipped and had to withdraw in his match against Roger Federer, 23-time Grand Slam winner Williams suffered a similar fate in her own first-round clash with world number 100 Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Several players have taken tumbles in the first few days of action, with the wet weather proving treacherous, though Henman insists the courts have been prepared with their usual diligence and care.

Asked about the slippery conditions, he told BBC Sport: ‘Well look I’ve been involved in the tournament on the committee side for 13 years and in those 13 years the preparation of the courts has been absolutely identical.

‘There’s no doubt the one thing that has been very different this year is the weather. In the lead up to the tournament, we had a very damp practice week.

‘The court and the plant does not have the chance to dry out. Add to that the roof has been closed for the first two days and that is why you are going to see a bit of slipping and sliding.

‘As Boris [Becker] said it is always the case, early on in the tournament when the court is at its most lush it can be a little bit challenging moving.

‘From the club point of view they wanted to check the humidity levels on Centre Court and number one with the roof closed and in actual fact the humidity levels were lower – and that’s because we aren’t at full capacity.

‘So it is definitely challenging. We don’t want to see injuries. But the ground staff are meticulous in their preparation of the courts and nothing has changed.

‘Fingers crossed if the weather can be a little warmer in the next few days it would definitely dry things out a little bit.’

Asked about the state of the grass on Centre Court, Federer said yesterday: ‘I do feel it feels a tad more slippery maybe under the roof. I don’t know if it’s just a gut feeling.

‘You do have to move very, very carefully out there. If you push too hard in the wrong moments, you do go down. I do feel if it’s drier during the day, with the wind and all that stuff, it takes the moist out of the grass.’

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