Articles

WHY WIMBLEDON?

Now that the local, Oxfordshire interest in Wimbledon has disappeared, I will go back to the box and watch it. I gave up about ten years ago when Tim Henman was in his heyday. It was too nerve-wracking to watch him, and too painful to go on that roller-coaster ride where he took our hopes to the top of some great precipice and then dashed them.

But I’ll be glued to the television again this year, and the normal national life will again come to a halt during the tournament. But what is there about the game that is so addictive?

Well, for starters, it’s the same thing that drove people to the Coliseum when the gladiators came on, or in this day and age to watch a boxing match. When the two players step on the court, it is them and them alone who will stand or fall by their training, their talent and their wits. It goes back to something elemental where you have one person risking everything against another and the only thing that is certain about all this is that there will be a winner and a loser.

It’s also a beautiful display of skill and power that people develop when they are at the top of their game. This connects with everyone who has ever picked up a racket: because although we can never know what it is like to be where they are, we’ve taken a few steps on that journey and we understand something of the excitement.

Tennis is also a test of mental strength. It’s about keeping your cool and not cracking in a very public cauldron. And that part of it is always exciting.

Of course there is the sheer spectacle of it and the entertainment and the need for a little light relief from the daily grind. Oh yes, and there is always the betting.

But why do you watch Wimbledon?