Wimbledon sticking with later Centre Court start times despite player concern

Wimbledon is planning to stick with its controversial Centre Court scheduling that has guaranteed blockbuster evening television entertainment but drawn criticism from some players.

Novak Djokovic became the latest big name to finish a match under the Wimbledon roof on Sunday night and said that it would be “quite helpful” to not finish so many matches under the lights due to the changed playing conditions, notably a more slippery surface.

It is understood that Andy Murray is also not a fan of playing so many key matches under a roof that was expected to primarily deal with rail delays rather than facilitate late-night finishes.

The start time on Centre Court has been pushed back to 1.30pm from 1pm and, with post-match on-court interviews, around 20 minutes between matches and a potential break to close the roof, the Centre Court schedule is now regularly stretching past 9pm. Djokovic only just beat the 11pm Wimbledon curfew on Sunday night, even though none of the three Centre Court matches required a deciding set.

Djokovic has heard that a change was being considered, with start times potentially coming forward by up to an hour, but the All England Club stressed on Monday that this is not currently on the agenda.

As host broadcaster, the BBC also has an influence on the scheduling of matches on Centre Court and Court No 1 and has largely had wall-to-wall live tennis over this past week from 11am until around 10pm. 

Asked if there were plans to switch the start time, All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said: “No. Other than we continually review what we do, but there are no plans to move the start time.

“The reality of running a tennis event is that once you start the day you have no idea when the day's going