Kristina Mladenovic questions state of Wimbledon courts
Friday 7 July 2017 16:06, UK
Wimbledon's courts are dangerous to play on because the hot weather has caused large patches of grass to wear away, claims French player Kristina Mladenovic.
The 24-year-old was knocked out of the women's singles on Thursday by American Alison Riske and, following her defeat on Court No 18, France's 12th seed stressed the court was not fit to be used after just four days of the championships.
Highlighting an apparent lack of grass on the court's surface, Mladenovic said: "It's quite unique with your opponent, after two games, you both agree on stopping playing in a slam.
"You're asking the referee to tell you what is the rule, if both players don't want to keep on playing.
"And the answer is that they just can't do anything, unfortunately, and you have to keep on playing. In case something bad happens.
"There's no grass. I don't know how to describe it. It's not even clay. It's not flat. I mean, I don't know."
Mladenovic's concerns come as Bethanie Mattek-Sands was forced to retire from her second-round singles match with Romanian Sorana Cirstea, after suffering what appeared to be a serious knee injury on Thursday.
The American slipped during the third set as her knee appeared to buckle underneath her, leaving her to lay screaming on the turf before she received lengthy medical treatment from paramedics.
Mladenovic believes the warm and dry weather has contributed to what she claims to be a "totally different" surface to previous years.
She added: "There was a huge hole on the sides where Pam [Whytcross], the referee, came to actually take pictures of it. There was a hole. So it was not even flat.
"I realised that because at the warm-up I kind of twisted a little bit my ankle.
"I feel it's totally different than the previous years. But, you know, I'm not criticising. I'm not an expert at all on grass courts.
"I guess the climate doesn't help, the fact that it's too nice, too hot, too sunny, makes everything very dry. That's what we got as an answer from the officials."
A response from The All England Club rejected Mladenovic's argument and stated: "The grand slam supervisor [Pam Whytcross] and the assistant referee [Denise Parnell] both attended Court 18 during the Mladenovic vs Riske match, inspected it, and in their experienced view judged it playable as per normal.
"The head of courts and horticulture [Neil Stubley] and the head groundsman [Grant Cantin] were also in attendance.
"The court preparation has been to exactly the same meticulous standard as in previous years. Grass is a natural surface and it is usual for the baselines to start to be showing signs of wear and tear four days into the championships."
When asked about the conditions, several players said they were nothing out of the ordinary.
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer feels concerns should be listened to, but admitted the suggestion of a postponement is not something he has experienced.
He said: "You should always take the players' opinion seriously, especially when both say it.
"But to postpone a match because of slippery grass, I have never heard that. It's a tough one."
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