Show Courts

Centre and No.1 Courts are quite different in atmosphere and challenge from all other courts at Wimbledon. The Referee tries to make sure that the top seeds have reasonably similar numbers of appearances on the premier courts before they reach a crucial stage in The Championships. There has to be fairness and justice in the number of appearances of the top seeds on Centre Court and No.1 Court, to avoid unfair familiarity with those courts as between players. A just and fair pattern of appearances is regarded as critical in the world’s premier tennis Championships.

It should also be noted that, with respect to top seeds and ‘idols’, it is easier on the Show Courts to maintain security and ensure the safety of the top players. This understandable bias has to be regularly monitored and adjusted where possible for the sake of fairness.

Scheduling the day’s best matches between Centre and No.1 Courts can often be difficult, especially during the later stages of The Championships. Every effort is made to provide a first-class programme on No.1 Court, but there are more spectators on Centre Court, and there is a ticket price differential between them. While the national and worldwide TV audience can of course be shown matches from either court, even internationally there is a special magic attaching to the Centre Court for audiences and the media.

It is difficult to predict the length of some matches, whether best of three/five sets, but it always has to be borne in mind that if two five-set matches are scheduled which go the full distance to five sets on (say) Centre Court, there may be only two matches that day on that Court.
Some days are particularly difficult to schedule to satisfy everybody – including British hopes, and the crowds. Priority for the principal Show Courts has to be given to the most attractive matches involving top seeds.