Yesterday morning we went to the South-West end of the city to see the Wimbledon museum and grounds. Phil had been looking forward to this tour all week long, but I didn't really know much about this whole "Wimbledon" thing and was asking Phil many questions about it on our Tube ride there...."What is it? Why would they play on grass? Won't the ball bounce funny on grass? How can it be outside? What if it rains? Do Venus and Serena play here? What about other famous tennis people?"......Needless to say, before we arrived to the venue I was well-prepped by Phil and starting to get excited too!
Phil and I at Centre Court. SO EXCITING! The tour took us through the different courts, including the Number One Court and the famous "Centre Court", as well as the court where the longest match ever was played - Number 18 Court. We also got to see (and sit at the very front of!) the interview room, where all players are REQUIRED to give an interview directly after each match. Believe it or not, they get BIG FINES if they decline an interview!
Rule #1 of the Tour: DO NOT STEP ON THE GRASS!!!!!Throughout the tour, we were given some history about the venue and the game, lessons on how the grass is maintained (talk about some SERIOUS SCIENCE!), insight into the architectural designs, and some gossip about the surrounding flats and past players. The museum gave us more details about the game over time and we got to play some interactive games which made the experience SUPER FUN.
This year the Championships will be happening THREE WEEKS before the Olympics! We were let in on some of the preparation secrets and MAN - we would NOT want to be part of that crew! But, we DO want to be included in the fan frenzy that happens this summer! I am visor-ready and Phil has a nice new shirt to sport during the tournament!
HOORAY FOR WIMBLEDON! :)
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