Wimbledon's retractable roof to solve weather woes

London, Apr 22: Wimbledon will never again face trouble with weather problems like rain or bad light with the new retractable roof over Centre Court.

The All England Club have said that the retractable roof will allow matches at this summer's Championships to be played after dark and into the night under the artificial lights.

The Club showcased their new closed roof for the first time, which is an impressive piece of architectural design that has made Centre Court both weatherproof and bad light-proof.

The roof, which is a folding fabric and concertina design, could be 'closed for reasons of light as well as rain', after which there will be a delay of at least half an hour before play can resume. It will take eight to 10 minutes for the roof to close and another 20-30 minutes for the air-management system to regulate the glass conditions.

Although there are no evening matches scheduled at SW19, daytime matches that finish after hours and after dark. Merton Council that there will not be a cut-off point when the tennis must finish each day.

The Club said that even though Wimbledon was an 'outdoor daytime event', the roof will give rise to the possibility of occasional indoor night-time tennis.

On May 17, the air-management system will be properly tested when former champions Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, along with Henman and Belgium's Kim Clijsters feature at a test event under the closed roof.

ANI