Every year on the tennis calender, after Roland Garros, the players make a radical shift away from the dirt of Spain, Italy, and France and onto the regal lawns of England. A comparison between the two seasons and the two major events that cap off the respective seasons naturally arises. The differences are striking. The red clay and the green grass. The striking colors of the players' attire matched against the deep red of the court and the simple, all-white dress code that blend in with the green grass. All of these are magnified in each of their respective majors. Roland Garros and the Championships at Wimbledon. After the jump, we'll compare the two majors.
The all-white dress code of the All England Lawn Tennis Club strikes many as odd, out-dated, and backwards. However, to others, it is a powerful symbol of the traditions and history of tennis. Also, the way the white blends in with the grass is quite visually appealing. The clay courts, with their non-existent dress code, simply cannot match it. Another unique aspect of Wimbledon is their lack of sponsors around the courts, except for an IBM logo on the scoreboard and a barely noticeable Slazenger logo on the back wall. Roland Garros, on the other hand, and for that matter, all of the other tournaments in the world, are littered with sponsors. At Stade Roland Garros, it's BNP Paribas and a host of other sponsors. Simply put, it's the eye test. There is also something thoroughly undignified about a chair umpire leaving his chair and inspecting a mark on a court. At Wimbledon, even before the challenge system, you simply wouldn't have that. Tennis on grass, and especially at Wimbledon, looks "right". In Paris, it looks "dirty".
There is of course the audio aspect of each tournament, and in this writer's opinion, it's clear that the All England Lawn Tennis Club has their counterparts in Paris beat. The French crowd is irritable, late arriving, and early leaving. They are quick to hiss at any player that questions a mark. The crowds at Wimbledon can be very loud, but this only adds to the experience. One moment that stuck out during the first week at the 2011 Championships was Andy Murray's match against Ivan Ljubicic. They were clearly pro-Murray, but after Ljubicic hit some great shots, they applauded him. In Paris, that is a very rare reaction to have. Another recent addition to the sounds of Wimbledon has been the construction of the retractable roof over Centre Court. The sounds that the players make under the roof are very different than those under the London sky, but, rather than cheapening the effect of the "Cathedral of Tennis", as Centre Court is nicknamed, it enhances the sound.
There is something audacious about calling your tournament "The Championships" and naming your main show courts "Centre Court", Court 1, and the like, not putting sponsors on the courts, and forcing your players to wear all white. The tradition and history that flows through the grounds of the All England Club make all of these things not only tolerable but expected. Roland Garros cannot match that history, class, or dignity. This is not to say that Roland Garros is a bad tournament. Some may certainly prefer the rabble and clamor of the Parisian masses to the British, and many people consider Paris to be more appealing than London, but there is a reason why the Championships have remained the premier tennis tournament in the world. You can see my earlier post, "The Supremacy of Grass" to see how the grass court game is really the best in terms of determining the best player. In addition to that, the tradition, pageantry, and serenity of Wimbledon makes it the best tennis tournament in the world.
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