Wet Wimbledon Grass Causes Falls, Disappointment

The Wimbledon tennis championship in London has been marked by wet weather and slippery¹ conditions.

The famous tennis competition, one of four major championships in the sport, started Monday.

Early in the week, top-ranked player Novak Djokovic fell and landed on his backside two times. He was not injured².

But on Day 2, Roger Federer's opponent³, Adrian Mannarino, lost his footing, too. He was not so lucky. The Frenchman's 33rd birthday ended with a knee injury and a loss⁴ because he was too hurt to continue.

That also happened to tennis star Serena Williams on Tuesday. It was her latest attempt to tie the record for major tennis championship wins with 24. But the game left her crying after just 30 minutes. She injured her right leg when her left shoe lost footing in almost the same place that Mannarino had. She told the press that she was heartbroken to have to leave the competition.

All those games were played with the stadium⁵'s movable roof closed because of rain. And that is what the All England Club blames for how slippery the grass has been. The All England Club is a sports membership⁶ group that has supervised⁷ Wimbledon since the competition began in the 19th century. The club said the two opening days this year have been the wettest ones of Wimbledon in almost 10 years.

Keeping the roof closed for a long period leads to wetter grass, the club said in a statement⁸. It was released⁹ after Williams and Mannarino got hurt and left the competition.

Federer told the Associated¹⁰ Press that the courts do seem a little more slippery under the roof. "You do have to move very, very carefully out there." If you push too hard at the wrong times, "you do go down," he said.

Federer is an eight-time Wimbledon champion. "I do feel it's drier during the day. With the wind and all that stuff¹¹, it takes the (wetness) out of the grass."

The club's statement added¹² that the grass has been prepared with the same level of care as in past years.

Wimbledon's courts are removed each year and new grass is planted. Neil Stubley leads the club's court preparation efforts. Before the competition on Monday, he said the club did all the usual preparations even though Wimbledon did not happen in 2020.

The grass does have a little more wetness on the surface during the start of the competition, the club said in its statement. It added that, with each game played, the courts will continue to get firmer.

Federer offered a similar reaction.

He knows the space well, having first played at Wimbledon in 1999 and first won in 2003.

For a lot of the players, he said, it is important to get through those first two rounds, because that is when the grass is slippery. "It is more soft," he said. But as the competition progresses, the grass usually gets "harder and easier to move on."

Words in This Story

knee –n. the joint¹³ that bends in the middle of the leg

tie –v. to make the score or competition record equal

stadium –n. a large building with a large field and seating around it for sports and other events

roof –n. the cover on top of a building or vehicle¹⁴

slippery –adj. difficult to stand or move on because of smoothness, wetness or ice

court –n. a flat surface where certain games like tennis or basketball are played

round –n. a stage in a competition in which a player or team must win to continue to the next stage

1 slippery   

adj.滑的；油滑的，狡猾的，不可靠的

参考例句：

• We found it very slippery under foot.我们感到地上很滑。
• Mind out,the steps are slippery!注意，台阶很滑！

2 injured   

adj.受伤的

参考例句：

• Our best defender is injured and won't be able to play today.我们最佳的防守员受伤了，今天不能参加比赛。
• The injured men have been dug out of the snow.受伤人员从雪中被挖了出来。

3 opponent   

n.对手，敌手，反对者；adj.敌对的，反对的

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• After a fierce struggle,he got a beat on his opponent.经过殊死的较量，他占了对手的上风。

4 loss   

n.损失，遗失，失败，输，浪费，错过，[军]伤亡，降低

参考例句：

• His death was a great loss to the country.他的逝世对这个国家是一大损失。
• Because of the continued loss,the factory closed down.由于连续亏损，工厂关闭了。

5 stadium   

n.露天大型运动场

参考例句：

• The new football stadium can hold eighty thousand people.新的足球场可以容纳八万人。
• The stadium is being used for a match.那个露天运动场正在进行一场比赛。

6 membership   

n.成员资格，会员全体，从属关系

参考例句：

• I must renew my membership of the sailing club.我必须延续我的航海俱乐部会员的资格。
• He made up his mind to apply for membership in the Party.他决心申请入党。

7 supervised   

v.监督，管理( supervise的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The architect supervised the building of the house. 建筑工程师监督房子的施工。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He supervised and trained more than 400 volunteers. 他指导和培训了400多名志愿者。 来自辞典例句

8 statement   

n.陈述；声明；综述

参考例句：

• The government will put out a new statement tomorrow.政府将于明天发布一项新声明。
• Put down your statement in black and white.把你的话用白纸黑字写下来。

9 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

10 associated   

adj.联合的

参考例句：

• the risks associated with taking drugs 与吸毒有关的危险
• I don't want to be associated with your scheme; I'm contracting out. 我不想参与你们的计划，我要退出。

11 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

12 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 vehicle   

n.车辆，交通工具，运载工具；媒介，表现手段

参考例句：

• Air is the vehicle of sound.空气是声音传播的媒介。
• The power plant burns used vehicle tyres as fuel.这家电厂用废弃轮胎作燃料。