Roehampton in southwest London has a lot to offer when it comes to tennis: as a qualifying venue for Wimbledon, it is a kind of mecca for tennis purists.
In the week leading up to the third Grand Slam of the year, the eyes of fans are on the small town of Roehampton, where the qualifying rounds for Wimbledon are being held, and fans are flocking there to admire tennis in its most authentic form.
Eva Lys sank to the ground. The German had just won her decisive match against the American Amanda Anisimova on Court 3 of the Wimbledon qualifying facility in Roehampton, deep in southwest London, five kilometers from the actual tournament grounds. Lys defeated the former French Open semi-finalist in three close sets and thus secured her ticket for the main competition at the most traditional Grand Slam tournament in the tennis calendar for the first time.
Ticket for Wimbledon
But the victory is more than just a ticket for the first round. It is also the entrance ticket to the sacred turf on Church Road, and Lys has never seen it up close, as she revealed to Sportschau on Thursday (June 27, 2024) after her victory: “Sometimes you drive past the facility and look very sadly out of the car and then you drive on to Roehampton. If you never make it to the facility, it is of course bitter. But if you do make it, it is a sweet reward.”
It takes hard work to earn the sweet reward. The qualifying competitions for Grand Slam tournaments are not just for big names like Anismova. They are also full of all those who are just about to make the big jump, others who have been at the top and have fallen back in the rankings, and, last but not least, those who are hoping for one last big chance. Tough competition, in an unfamiliar environment.
Airplane noise in the backdrop of England’s past
Every minute, the large planes roar over the large field that used to be a cricket pitch and is now used for the Wimbledon qualifying matches on their approach to Heathrow Airport. If you walk from the imposing entrance, which looks as if it is letting you into the world of British boarding schools, towards the courts, you take a little journey back in time: behind the players’ lounge, there are tennis courts as far as the eye can see.
This is what tennis must have looked like many decades ago. You hardly have to queue anywhere to get to one of the courts. The hardcore fans, tennis nerds, coaches and the numerous ball boys who are already practicing here for the real thing starting next week stand and sit on camping chairs they have brought with them. It is the festival for all those who love tennis in its original form.
Sitting tennis for “spectators”
There is a small hill at the edge of Court 6, where spectators have also settled down, mostly with a drink in their hand. They have the opportunity to watch world-class tennis from very close up. Apart from the applause of the people and the minute-by-minute roar of the aircraft turbines, there is an almost relaxing calm to be heard.
A lot of the noise is absorbed by the grass and if you look across the grounds from the path that frames pitch 6, you can see the referee’s chairs lined up like a string of pearls. An antiquated place, then, where there is so much drama in a small space that you might only find in a Jane Austen novel.
Because on this inconspicuous large lawn, the fate of 128 qualifiers who want to win one of the 16 precious places in the main field will be decided.
The lawn must be protected
In contrast to the other three Grand Slam tournaments in Melbourne, Paris and New York, Wimbledon allows itself the somewhat quirky luxury of playing the qualifying matches not on the courts that will be used from Monday, but in Roehampton.
There is a reason for this, of course. The grass courts at the Wimbledon facility cannot withstand three weeks of tournament tennis. And since there are not enough courts available at the Church Road facility, they have to use this court instead.
At least: players who reach the main draw automatically receive a cheque for 60,000 pounds. For professionals like Marina Stakusic from Canada or the Estonian Mark Lajal, who both reached the main round of one of the four Grand Slams for the first time, this is a career booster. At least the next six months are financially secured, flights can be booked, the world rankings are moving up, and the tournament year becomes more plannable.
Day ticket for 15 pounds
The organizers of Wimbledon have only pushed the commercialization of the qualifying tournament to a microscopic extent. While there used to be no entry fee at all, tickets for a whole day of tennis now cost no more than 15 pounds.
There are no merchandise stands at all on the huge field. A small area is reserved for food trucks. People who have made the journey to southwest London can eat something under a tent roof.
Apart from the large show court, which is also shown live on the Wimbledon website, there are only two other courts that have any spectator seating. The rest of the courts are so close together that a maximum of two people can fit behind each other. Luxury? Not at all.
Luxury? No! But perfect conditions
But the quality of the playing conditions means that players can expect perfection here too. The grass courts are in the same condition as the facility in “SW19,” confirms Eva Lys: “I don’t know what they’re doing here, but no grass court can compare to the courts in Wimbledon.”
It is not yet certain how long the qualifying tournament will continue to be played in Roehampton. The organisers in Wimbledon have acquired another piece of land that was previously used as a golf course and want to bring the qualifying tournament closer to the main courses. Then the commercialisation will certainly be further advanced.
Until then, this week of tennis before the third Grand Slam of the year remains a gem for tennis purists – and for players like Eva Lys, the springboard from the small tennis park to the most important facility that this sport has to offer: the Wimbledon tournament facility.
