Wimbledon attendees this year have the chance to test their skills against a robotic serving machine that replicates the serves of top players, from John McEnroe to Elina Svitolina. The machine, created by 5Gs agency in collaboration with Vodafone, uses 5G connectivity to deliver real-time data from Centre Court, recreating the speed, angle, and trajectory of professional serves.
Punters face robot replicas of tennis stars
One punter, Alex Ellis, managed to return a simulated serve from John McEnroe but could not get near Elina Svitolina's. "I got one over the net from Sir [John] McEnroe, so that will do, but [the Ukrainian player Elina] Svitolina's – I couldn't get anywhere near it," he said. "It felt like pressure to be honest, it's almost like I'm playing at Wimbledon, but it was enjoyable. It definitely shows how competitive it is at the real level."
Oliver Kibblewhite, whose 5Gs agency created the machine, said the robot arm was built "very stout" to handle faster serves than a normal tennis serving machine. Around half of punters were able to return at least one of three serves, and Emma Raducanu's serve has proven the most popular to tackle, he added.
Reality check for tennis enthusiasts
Tennis coach Arthur Culicovschi found the experience "a reality check", returning a serve from Italian No 1 seed Jannik Sinner but missing ones from Roger Federer and former US star Andy Roddick. Mori Arathoon from Germany noted the serve came from a much higher point than in his tennis league, resembling being struck from a second storey. "Now I can relate to [professional players] a bit," he said.
Wimbledon prepares for heatwave
Wimbledon is gearing up for an extended heatwave starting on Friday, just a week after temperatures in the area reached 35C (95F). Tournament operations director Michelle Dite told reporters "this is how it is now", after experiencing last week's qualifying championships as "hotter than the surface of the sun". "We have upped our shade and shelter here for the public," she said. "We're always trying to make sure that we can provide as much shaded shelter as we can, not just for our temporary infrastructure, but also when we're doing permanent upgrades here."
A new retractable roof on the tea lawn this year shields punters purchasing strawberries and cream, and two other covered social spaces are available in the southern village and the "Henman Hill" area.
Courts and horticulture adapt to climate change
Wimbledon's chief executive, Sally Bolton, said one area of focus was evolving planting to "think really carefully about what an English summer garden will look like into the future when water is harder to come by", and to anticipate Met Office predictions that temperatures in England will rise to 45C by 2056. The venue's head of courts and horticulture, Neil Stubley, said he was looking five to 10 years ahead to protect "probably the most scrutinised piece of turf in the world".
"The grasses that we're selecting now – they're more drought-tolerant and wear-tolerant – help us on weeks like last week," he said, though higher overnight temperatures of 30C would deprive grass of the cooler nights needed to recover. Aside from the weather, the courts need to adapt to other changes, including different styles of play and the length of matches. "Two male players – Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner – are notorious for sliding into their shots, so that means that tears in the turf," Stubley added.
