LAWN TENNIS.

Waikato Times, Volume 105, Issue 17750, 29 June 1929, Page 20 (Supplement)

LAWN TENNIS.

LURE OF WIMBLEDON.

DIFFICULT TO GET A SEAT. REASONS DISCUSSED. Writing in the “Britannia,” Mr S. Powell Blackmore discusses the many reasons of the great difficulty in obtaining admission to the great Wimbledon tournament. He says— Every year when March comes round some thousands of people are eagerly awaiting to hear whether they have been successful in their application for seats for the coming lawn tennis championships at Wimbledon. Most of them will be disappointed applicants because the demand for scats has far outgrown the accommodation of the central stadium. Its capacity, including standing spffce, is for about 15,000 people. There are approximately ten thousand seats.

The Gamble for Seats. “How can I get a seat for Wimbledon?” is an oft-heard question. Reserved seats available to the general public must be applied for by February 1. Of these there are 3500 round the Centre court for disposal after the demands of debenture holders and members have been satisfied. . There are two grades of debenture holders: Class A receive two free seats for the whole meeting; Class B have the right to purchase two seats for every £IOO debenture held, at the current price of £4 4s per seat. Last year for these remaining 3500 seats applicants sent in cheques for about £47,000 and £35,000 of this huge sum had to be returned to unsuccessful people. These seats are supposed to be allocated by ballot, but those behind the scenes always laugh at the mention of the word ballot. Said one sporting lad to me the other day, “What are the mathematical odds against my being successful in the ballot this year?” I suggested four to one.

“Right!” he replied. “I will lay you three pounds to one that I shall get two seats.” “So will I,” interposed another, “despite the fact that I got them last year also.” “How did I get them? Well, I sent a really rude letter to Wimbledon accompanying my cheque for ,£8 8s for two seats for thu whole meeting. I

told them that I had applied unsuccessfully for the past seven years, and that I knew of someone else who had for seven years been annually successful in the ballot. I added that I estimated the mathematical chance against such a seven years’ run in a straight ballot was 315,000 to one.

Another of last year’s successful applicants then said he won tickets by writing and saying that In the event of failure again ho would open a bureau for the resale of Wimbledon seat tickets on commission.

Waiting In the Queues. The Wimbledon ballot is a hotly debated question in lawn tennis circles. Regular tournament players generally hold the view—and express it strongly, too—that they should have priority of claim to reserved tickets, as is done by the Rugby football authorities at Twickenham. On the other hand, the Wimbledon Committee think that the present arragement is financially more secure for themselves. These lawn tennis championships are held every year at the grounds of the All-England Club. The meeting lasts a fortnight. Although styled “The Lawn Tennis Championships” the tournament is in reality a national one, comparable with the American championships held at Forest Hills and the French championships in Paris. For years the Wimbledon meeting has attracted the world’s greatest players; for twenty years the men’s singles title has been held by overseas visitors— Frenchmen, Americans and Australasians.

The All-England Club Is a private venture in the hands of a small group of men. But so great has become the vogue of lawn tennis that tiie annual championships- at Wimbledon have become, since the war, a veritable gold mine, yielding net profits, it is believed, of well over £30,000 a year. Their balance sheet, is a secret one, and Wimbledon regards, any inquiry regarding its financial side as an impertinence. The boom which fell upon the game in 1919 forced the Wimbledon authorities to quit their old grounds in Worple Road and to construct the present stadium and grounds at a cost of approximately £IOO,OOO. But Wimbledon is not the governing body of the game, though in a sense it is far more powerful than the Lawn Tennis Association.

Truth of a Secret Agreement. What is wrong with English lawn tennis? Why cannot we produce champions? These and allied questions are discussed every year. Sundry answers arc supplied each season, but one factor largely contributing to past failures has been the indifference of Wimbledon towards its national responsibilities; its utter disregard of a pledged agreement. When the,transfer was made to the present grounds at Wimbledon Park the Lawn Tennis Association made an agreement with the All-England Lawn Tennis Club re Wimbledon.

This document fills nine pages of closely printed matter foolscap size. Without question it may be described as a secret agreement. It was signed by the contracting parties in 1922; it expires on December 3ist., 1947.

In this document the Lawn Tennis Association assigned to the All-Eng-land Club the exclusive rights to hold “The Lawn Tennis Championships on Grass” for 25 years.

We have already seen that the net'proflts on these Championships are In the neighbourhood of £30,000 a year. Now do a small multiplication sum: £30,000 x 25. It gives you £750,000. That Is just what those exclusive rights indicate.

Yet that is the kind of largesse our Lawn Tennis governing body threw away in 1922 with hardy a gesture-

Working a Gold Mine,

No one can blame Wimbledon for accepting a gift of such munificence. Would any one of us refuse it? Wimbledon's first concern is its gold-mining rights of the world's amateur lawn tennis talent—and right well has the club exploited the field. Yet the agreement bound the Wimbledon Club to fulfil certain obligations—small enough in all conscience compared with the annual gate receipts. First of all Wimbledon pays a percentage of its profits to the Lawn Tennis Association. Last year that sum was approximately £IO,OOO.

Furthermore Wimbledon undertook to provide to the Lawn Tennis Association other facilities, namely: “The use of an adequate number of grass and hard courts for the training and coaching of players (including juniors) and for practice by players selected or provisionally selected for international competitions and the services of a competent professional for training such players.” That promise was given in 1922 in the form of a legally binding agreement. In 1923 that competent professional should have been available for training English Davis Cup players and our juniors. For five years no coaching whatsoever was supplied by Wimbledon as agreed. You may pertinently ask then why did not the Lawn Tennis Association enforce the agreement. All I could in print answer would be —“Yes, why not !” Then came last year when Karel Kozeluh was engaged to coach at Wimbledon for six weeks and it was generally declared that the Lawn Tennis Association actually paid half the cost!

I state here that a six weeks’ engagement Is not a fulfilment of this contract. It Is but playing with the big question of competent coaching. I had the greatest difficulty In obtaining a copy of this agreement. Its secrets hitherto have been guarded with an almost unconquerable success.

Now, in view of this disclosure, I ask the All-England Club what reparation is honourably due to the Lawn Tennis Association, as representing thousands of English clubs and all the leading ones, on account of their failure to keep this pact. Money cannot undo the harm inflicted upon British prestige, but on a cash saving alone to Wimbledon the amount must be over £6OOO.

Penalising British . Players.

Without going any further into more abstruse reasons for the successive failures of British international teams on the world’s lawn tennis courts, here is one fundamental reason why our players have not done better in the past and why, too, our juniors do not mature as rapidly as do juniors of foreign countries.

Lord D’Abernon is the president of the Lawn Tennis Association. Eighteen months ago, speaking at the annual genera' deling, he made this declaration:

“I am told by a leading authority and a keen judge of the game that about half-fifteen represents the improvement (in English talent) ho considers necessary to turn what was a defeat this year (1927) into a victory—or a good chance of victory next year. That I call a bridgeable margin. It can be bridged by methodical training, skilful coaching, and team organisation.” That leading authority was the late Col. 11. G. Mayes. Now’ what have the Wimbledon Club and the Lawn Tennis Association to say about that neglected agreement?

Hard Facts About Hard Courts. In another clause of this secret agreement the Wimbledon Club undertook to provide:— “The usi of 10 hard courts in the hard court championships and any other hard court competitions and matches promoted by the association, one of such courts being equipped with adequate stands.” Yet the hard court championships have never once been held at Wimbledon 1 When I first went over the ground Commander G. W. Hlllyard, then secretary, took me to- the area which is now known as court No. 1 (adjacent to tije centre court). “This,” he said, “is to be the centre hard court, with seating capacity for five or six thousand people.” To make this “hard court arena” Wimbledon borrowed from the Lawn Tennis Association £4OOO at 3 per cent.! Then they proceded to lay down not a hard court but an additional grass court. The hard court championships will never be a national success until they are held, in terms of this agreement, at Wimbledon. The wangling that lias been done to hold them anywhere but at Wimbledon is a blot on the govern,ment of English lawn tennis- The game is now played so universally that its efficient control is of greater importance than the present rulers seem to imagine.