Matt Ebden has long loved the many traditions of competing at Wimbledon, but there’s even more to embrace in 2022 as he experiences The Championships with his family.
London, Great Britain, 29 June 2022 | Matt Ebden
Australian Matt Ebden is sharing a travel blog as he competes on tour. The world No.31-ranked doubles player, who is on the road with wife Kim and son Harvey, writes his latest instalment from the All England Club in London.
Arriving at The Championships again this year, I had such feelings of joy and was very relaxed. I suppose because I have had three good lead-in weeks of grass tournaments, I feel I’ve had plenty of grass practice and matches and am ready to go.
We’d travelled from the Mallorca Championships in Spain after finishing the tournament on Friday, with a limited flight schedule only getting us into London at 11pm and to our accommodation at around 1am. So I arrived this time wanting to take it lightly for a day or two and enjoy the atmosphere and environment in a relaxed way before really getting ready to start playing.
There’s so much that makes Wimbledon special – the greenery, the All England Club’s famous green and purple colour scheme, the big old Millennium building and the gates and guards through which you enter. Everything oozes history and tradition.
I love so many of those traditions. The strawberries. The grass courts. The views of the entire grounds from the very top of the player cafe. Tea and scones. The British accents, the guards, and the formality and history of it all.
The crowds add to the unique experience. It’s one of the events in the world that is very hard to get into as a fan. Often people queue for hours – even all night in some cases – just to get a ticket to enter the grounds. There is a real respect and passion for the people and for the game of tennis. Wimbledon is much more than a tennis tournament. It’s iconic, it’s an institution and a famed establishment all by itself, and the people and players revere it.
All smiles in London! 😁#GoAussies | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/wskuGXVBU4
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) June 27, 2022
Australian players feel a special connection to this Grand Slam for several reasons. Firstly, because we are traditionally grass courters ourselves. The Australian Open was originally played on grass, as were a few of our other tournaments.
Secondly, I think history and tradition play a big part….
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