Wimbledon delays its expansion until the end of the decade

The expansion of Wimbledon, which will triple the tournament space, will be delayed until the end of this decade, according to English media. The tennis championship is located at the All England Club and in 2018, the tournament acquired the golf course located right in front of the tennis complex, with the expectation of tripling its land and being able to carry out the preliminary phase in the same facilities as the final tournament .

Currently, due to the wear and tear that it would imply on the tracks and the limitation in numbers at the All England Club, the preliminary phase of Wimbledon is played in Roehampton, several miles from Wimbledon. The plan to unify what is still the Wimbledon Park golf course and the Wimbledon facilities set the project for 2025, but it has now been revealed that it will not be able to move forward until the end of the decade.

This has been revealed by the English media when having access to the consultation that has been made to the residents of the Merton neighborhood (London). “If we receive permission from the Merton and Wandsworth neighborhoods, it will take at least six years to build the tracks and at least two more for the tracks to be ready for use during the tournament,” the document explained.

Mandatory changes

In this way, Wimbledon would conform to the other Grand Slams, which carry out their preliminary phase in the same facilities of the final tournament. This year, however, due to the COVID pandemic, the Australian Open had to hold the preliminary phase in Doha, for the boys, and in Dubai, for the girls.