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

Written by: Staff on 16th November 2018

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….