We examine the objective of Wimbledon curfew & how it has impacted matches throughout the history of this prestigious tournament along with the rule time and meaning
Many sports teams, whether professional/amateur, may contain guidelines that aren’t strictly for sporting objectives. Notably, the Wimbledon curfew/cut-off time for play had an impact on the second-round match between Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas on 7th July. Additionally, Novak Djokovic’s last-16 clash against Hubert Hurkacz was interrupted on Sunday due to the curfew.
What is the Wimbledon 11pm curfew rule, time and meaning explained
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Why Andy Murray vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas was postponed during Wimbledon’s second-round?
Fans were confused when the nail-biting second-round match between Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas, was called off on Thursday night. Despite being in the lead on Thursday night, Tsitsipas eventually defeated Murray in a fifth-set thriller. Typically. Grand Slam competitions last well into the night, but Wimbledon has some severe curfew in place and hence, if any game stretches too long into the night, it will be postponed.
According to organizer rules, the curfew time is 11:00 PM local time and all games should be stopped before this deadline. Since Centre Court’s roof was first opened in 2009, there has been a Wimbledon curfew in effect. It is said that the curfew was implemented to strike a compromise between the needs of the neighborhood’s residents and the size of an international tennis tournament that is held there. Additionally. getting visitors home safely and the difficulty of transportation links are also important factors.
How has this curfew impacted Wimbledon matches?
Unfortunately, the curfew has the potential to end an eagerly anticipated game abruptly, as was seen on Thursday night. Historically, many other matches had to be suspended because of the curfew including 2018 semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Similarly, one match featuring Nick Kyrgios vs. Ugo Humbert was also put on hold with the score at 3-3 during the fifth-set.
Unexpected events can occur in the world of sports and similarly in 2012, the curfew was extended by two minutes as Andy Murray defeated Marcos Baghdatis at 11:02 PM. In response to this incident, Merton Council leader Stephen Alambritis claimed that the match was extremely close to it’s end and hence, it was common sense to let the match continue.
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