10SBALLS TEAM TAKES A BREAK FROM THE 02 ARENA TO GO VISIT THE WIMBLEDON MUSEUM AND THE QUEEN’S CLUB

Written by: on 16th November 2018
Wimbledon Visit_18
10SBALLS TEAM TAKES A BREAK FROM THE 02 ARENA TO GO VISIT THE WIMBLEDON MUSEUM AND THE QUEEN'S CLUB  |
Photo by 10sBalls

 

 

By J. Fred Sidhu and Ricky Dimon

 

10sballs’ Nitto ATP Finals reporters J. Fred Sidhu and Ricky Dimon found time to stop by both the Wimbledon Museum as well as the AELTC property and Queen’s Club earlier this week–and still didn’t miss any tennis! Here’ their recap of the festivities.

 

Fred’s thoughts: A Wimbledon Tennis Tour to Remember

 

Photo by 10sBalls

Our trip to Great Britain’s capital would not be complete without a visit to the All-England Club where we took a 90-minute tour of the club, which granted behind-the-scene access to parts of the venue most fans don’t get to see when they attend the Wimbledon Championships during the summer.

 

Even though the 2019 tournament doesn’t take place until next July, the grounds were very busy during our visit as construction workers were working on the roof for Stadium One, which is scheduled to be completed in time for next year’s event.

 

Our tour began on a cool, cloudy morning on the tournament grounds just outside the main building of the All England Club.

 

The tour guide assigned to our group did an excellent job of talking about the history of the All England Club and the Wimbledon Championships as we walked around the grounds. There were numerous photos and list of former champions on the walls as we made our way upstairs.

 

We had the opportunity to tour player reception and transportation areas and later we were taken to the roof of the broadcast center where we had an excellent view of the grounds. (Ricky’s office the last few years)

 

Photo by 10sBalls

Later, we were taken into the broadcast studio where the BBC airs their broadcast during the tournament. We also stopped by the main interview room where the top players are interviewed following their matches. We had time to have our photo taken at the interview desk.

 

The last stop on the tour was the historical Center Court. No matter how many times someone has been there, it is always a very special place. It has a feeling like no other tennis court in the world.

 

Our tour guide spoke about the history of the court and pointed out where the Royal Box was located and the role of royalty at the tournament.

 

Before leaving the grounds, we stopped at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum located in the lower level of the Gift Shop.

 

No visit to Wimbledon is complete without a visit to the museum, which houses one of the world’s best collections of tennis clothing, exhibits and displays. My only regret was not having more time to spend walking through this incredible tennis museum.

 

Even though I have attended the Wimbledon Championships several times in the past, this was the first time I have taken the tour and I am glad I went. It was very informative and we got to see parts of the club most fans don’t get to see. I will never forget this tour.

 

For additional information on the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum and Tour go to: http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/museum_and_tours/index.html

 

Ricky’s thoughts: A unique experience at Queen’s Club

 

Fred and I had the pleasure of eating breakfast with April Tod before she showed us all around Queen’s Club. While Wimbledon was awesome, as always, I had been there several times before–both to the tournament and for a tour. Queen’s Club, though, was totally new to me…which made it awesome. I can now watch the tournament on TV (or maybe in person one day!) with a totally new outlook and an accurate view of what goes on there on the court and behind the scenes.

 

Photo by 10sBalls

The first highlight was breakfast; Fred had the Belgian waffle and I went big with the English breakfast. Didn’t need to eat lunch after that!

 

Another highlight was seeing all the tournament grounds, the indoor practice courts, all the different rooms that are mostly dining area right now but are transformed into players’ lounges, interview rooms, etc. during the tournament.

 

The last highlight was watching a real tennis tournament. I mean REAL tennis; like the actual sport REAL TENNIS. I had barely ever heard of it, but I sent my dad a video and he said he played it once in New York. It is wild; and super entertaining. I definitely want to try it one day, even though I’m sure I’m much better at tennis (LAWN tennis, that is) than REAL tennis!

 

April was a great hostess. Her story about how she got her break into tennis journalism was especially fun to hear.

 

And now, back to the O2 for the rest of the week….

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @TennGrand.

 

Editors Note: We exist as tennis websites (yes, we have 3 now) because we love tennis. The museum holds a soft spot for our team. After Pete Sampras won his last Wimbledon, we helped the curator at that time, Honor Godfrey (OBE), acquire the “Sampras Kit.” We also were able to collect Richard Krajicek’s 1996 WIMBLEDON gear and have that donated for an exhibit.

•But our favorite donation that was accepted was a pair of signed Gussy MORAN knickers. The museum is the world’s finest. And they only accept one percent of one percent.

• 2019 marks an anniversary for Gussy and her famous laced panties. The year was 1949 and Gussy was the talk of the town. Then the world all overnight.

Gorgeous Gussy MORAN of Santa Monica CALIFORNIA.. • 70 years. Wow.

 

Topics: , , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.