Slippery Grass Surface Once Again Takes Spotlight at Wimbledon

LONDON — Jannik Sinner escaped with a five-set win during his first-round match at Wimbledon, but not without some damage. 

Sinner’s right shoe was stained with blood after several slips during his match against Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday. Many, including the ESPN broadcasters, speculated whether he had injured his foot. 

The men’s world No. 1 downplayed the impact during his post-match interview, saying it was “just a nail.”

“I’m good,” Sinner said. “It just seems much worse than it is. I’m actually very surprised they let me keep playing because all white [shoe], it turned into a little red.” 

But Sinner’s opening match incident spotlights the longstanding difficulty of grass surfaces in tennis, particularly Wimbledon, the lone grass court Grand Slam. Serena Williams, who is making her singles return to tennis at this year’s Wimbledon, was famously forced to retire during her first-round match in 2021 after slipping at Centre Court.

Novak Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion known for his flexibility and dexterity, has complained about the slippery courts in past years, and has suggested that closing the roof on Centre Court makes it even more difficult.

The Serbian slipped multiple times during his first-round match Monday against Yibing Wu, and again pointed at the slippery grass and the effect of the closed roof. (The roof was closed at the end of the second set.)

“It felt like we played two different matches: without roof on and obviously closed roof,” Djokovic said. “It affects the conditions. It affects the moisture of the grass, it becomes a bit more slippery.”

At his media availability Saturday, Djokovic also said that heat may affect the grass. London weather was up in the 90s Fahrenheit last week, but has been in the 70s to start the tournament. Temperatures are expected to be back in the 90s during the second week of the tournament.

“As I understand, the weather is going to settle a bit next week when the tournament starts. But this week has been one of the hottest in my experience so far in 20-plus years at Wimbledon,” Djokovic said. “It does have an effect because it’s a live surface, live material. Any change in weather conditions is affecting the way the grass responds to that. When it’s very hot, the grass softens. The soil softens.”

But Djokovic concluded that regardless of the conditions, “grass is always slippery.” Sinner had the same reaction speaking to reporters after his match.

“It’s the most normal thing. Grass courts are like this. Especially the first couple of ​matches when the grass is very new, you slip a bit more,” Sinner said. He said he got “lucky” that he didn’t sustain any serious injury.

“I’m very glad nothing happened,” Sinner said. 

Not everyone was as fortunate as Sinner. French Open women’s singles finalist Maja Chwalińska held match point (6-2, 5-2) in her first-round match against Mananchaya Sawangkaew on Monday when sustained an injury after slipping on the grass. Chwalińska did not retire, but lost in three sets.

“I don’t have a huge experience playing on grass,” Chwalińska, 24, told reporters after the match. “I know that it happens. So I just accept it.” 

On Tuesday, the crowds at Court 2 audibly gasped after Ben Shelton slipped in the fifth set of his match against Otto Virtanen, which ran for more than four hours. The American star and No. 4 seed in the tournament was able to get up and continue playing, but lost after relinquishing multiple match points.

This year’s courts have already shown significant wear and tear after just a day of action, but the All England Lawn Tennis Club has consistently defended its preparation of the grass courts. 

In 2024, CEO Sally Bolton acknowledged that grass is inherently slippery, but denied that any added moisture was caused by closed roofs.

“It’s part of this surface. You can’t really change that. I mean, it’s grass. It’s a live surface, and it reacts to different conditions, the humidity,” Bolton said. “In both show courts, we have a complex mechanism for keeping the air in the right condition for the court to be in the right condition.”