No changes have been made to the way courts are prepared at Wimbledon following player complaints a year ago, says Wimbledon's head groundsman.
Several players were injured in 2013 after slipping on the grass, including Victoria Azarenka, Steve Darcis, and Maria Sharapova. Seven players retired or withdrew on the first Wednesday last year, a one-day record at a Grand Slam.
There have been no prominent complaints this year.
''Going to press and having your work and your job scrutinized by people and by the media, it’s difficult,'' head groundman Neil Stubley told *The New York Times* about his experience a year ago.
''I think what happened last year was that it happened to a couple of high-profile players, and it coincided with other players pulling out with injuries, and I think it kind of all got thrown into the mix.''
However, numerous players had described the courts as more slippery than usual this year, with a report in The Telegraph saying an unusually wet spring could be the reason.
Stubley said the grounds people monitor the grass and adjust to weather conditions. He confirmed the courts this year were prepared in the same way as a year ago.
''That’s the balancing act, having the right amount of moisture in the plant at the start of the tournament to make sure it can hold the moisture until the end,” he said.
“For that to happen, the court will always be slightly lush at the start of the tournament, and as you get slowly into the latter part of the first week and into the second week, the court naturally firms up more, the surface starts to dry, and it becomes a lot more grippy.''
