Free image courtesy of Shep McAllister on Unsplash.

I am grateful to have got to watch 2 weeks of fantastic tennis once again on TV, via the BBC coverage and most matches being available to Pick and Mix on IPlayer. And this snoop is not to have a moan again about my unsuccessful Wimbledon ballot submissions over the last 20 years. Although it does drive me batty I cannot get a ticket despite my persistence, patience and loyalty to the championship and the sport as a whole. I do genuinely follow the sport and players all year round not just get my strawberries out the last week in June. The odds for the Wimbledon ballot which state online are about 1 in 10 chance of being successful. So clearly a lot more people want a ticket than they have available to allocate. I obviously have been particularly unlucky. This year I have even joined the LTA lawn tennis association. I was tempted to pay the £25 for an advantage membership entitling me to entry into their ballot as well, the only real benefit for paying the fee I could see however I read the chances of getting a ticket in the LTA Wimbledon ballot are no better than the public ballot at 1 in 10 so I saved the £25 quid.

I was very happy to find the free image at Wimbledon on Unsplash, now a somewhat historical archive showing the line judges of old, a tradition at Wimbledon for the last 147 years in action, a job now eliminated following the US Open and the Australian Open electing to rely solely on AI ELC using only Hawk eye live technology and a computer generated voice to call the balls out. Only the French Open of all the grand slam tournaments still employ the traditional officials on court.

I love tennis, and have for almost five decades. And as many of the players agree. Wimbledon for me is the most beautiful tennis championship in the world, something many people look forward to every year. I remember a science teacher Mrs Fairbanks always rushing home straight after school usually around the last week of term to make sure she didn’t miss a moment’s more action than absolutely necessary. I am sure her commitment to the tournament, a favourite teacher rubbed off on me.

I love seeing the ball girls and ball boys in their smart uniforms now provided by American fashion designer Ralph Lauren and even the players purloining the beautiful plush towels provided by Christy’s, collectors items that change every year. The pastel blues and pinks. striped shirts and chinos for the lines men and women and chair empires completed the on court set in preparation for the on court action.

I have to say they were truly missed this year. And I just don’t believe it’s the players who think the AI 10 camera set up around every court is better reported in the press just probably cheaper if the truth be known. They already had hawk eye installed as a back up when players felt the need to challenge the keen eye of a focused and dedicated professional. I thought it quite funny to see courses being offered to become a tennis official on the LTA Lawn Tennis Association website when if they carry on, it’s not going to be long before the human chair umpire or tournament referee is no longer needed either. Someone suggested sarcastically in a press article getting AI to randomly kick up the balls on the grass instead. Or maybe the net calling the lets.

Becoming a tennis official was something I considered doing because of my passion for the sport (and I did love the uniform:) to get on centre court another way, going around the outside until I realised the jobs had been axed anyway.

I am all for progress if things are actually improved but I’d guess for the ladies and gents who all lost their jobs this years tournament was a bit of a downer.

Wimbledon is recognised as an elite sporting event around the world and anyone who has been fortunate to get a ticket in years gone by will understand why so many people want to go yet even if you have the money to pay a premium,

unless you purchase at corporate level or a debenture seat available on exclusive websites literally for sometimes thousands of pounds it is virtually impossible to secure a seat for a show court.

I have loved watching this years championship on TV and also enjoyed the camera scanning the audience as it always does to show us the stars in the stands, Leonardo Di Caprio, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, Keira Knightly, Hugh Grant,John Lithgow and so many more younger faces I didn’t know the names of.

The winner of the men’s championship Jannik Sinner joked about being hit with a champagne cork in between first and second serves in his winners chat with former British tennis pro, the lovely Annabel Croft, “It’s a very expensive tournament”

I fear it has become so expensive you can now realistically only get a ticket on a black market or through an elusive Hollywood agent never revealed to the mere mortals, the genuine tennis fans entering the Wimbledon ballot year in year out and when February rolls around and the letter doesn’t land on the mat by post offering pre selected tickets for purchase we just think “Maybe next year?”