By Gus Saltonstall
Local tennis fans, take note: The All England Club, which hosts Wimbledon, will install a temporary grass tennis court on Wollman Rink in Central Park this summer.
“The Wimbledon Court in Central Park” will run from June 26 to 29, in which Wimbledon’s official ground staff will turn Wollman Rink, within the park near East 63rd Street, into a grass tennis court.
“Whether they are watching the unique exhibition matches we have planned, enjoying the rare opportunity to play on a Wimbledon grass court, coming to New York for the first time ever, or tasting some of Wimbledon’s traditional food and drink, our four day event will bring the celebration of ‘tennis in an English garden’ to New York’s iconic Central Park,” Usama Al-Qassab, marketing and commercial director at The All England Club, said in a news release on Tuesday.
In terms of the activities to be held on the temporary grass court, here are two of the highlights.
- An exhibition doubles match between “tennis icons” on June 26. The participating players will be revealed in the coming days. You can secure free tickets to watch “The Wimbledon Court Invitational” through a lottery — HERE.
- Free slots to play on the pop-up court for New Yorkers on June 27 and 28, which you also secure through a lottery — HERE.
On June 29, there will be a tennis practice session on the court for a select group of 15- to 24-year-olds from a youth employment and skills program supported by Barclays and Wimbledon, based in the Bronx. Also on June 29, the court will host a watch party for the opening day of play at Wimbledon, which runs from June 29 to July 12, that will include giant broadcasting screens.
This year’s Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam tournament of the year, may get extra attention after this week’s announcement that 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams will play in doubles competition at Queen’s, the prestigious grass-court warm-up for Wimbledon. Williams, 44, who stepped away from professional tennis four years ago, will partner with Canada’s Victoria Mboko.
For the past few summers, CityPickle has managed 14 pickleball courts on Wollman Rink. The pickleball courts are open again this summer, but will be closed from June 23 to 30.
You can find out more about the temporary Wimbledon grass court — HERE.
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Sounds fun. I’m not sure I get the marketing angle of this, (from this article at least) but why not?
Increase Wimbledon viewership, merchandise sales, tourism to England promotion, increased tennis excitement with spillover for US Open etc.
“You can secure free tickets to watch “The Wimbledon Court Invitational” through a lottery — HERE. ”
Tried multiple times – site is “temporarily unavailable”.
The lottery for tickets is “temporarily unavailable.” Not an auspicious beginning.