An unseasonal stretch of extreme heat and humidity has left the stadiums at the Open sweltering. But a few players, Coco Gauff among them, say the hotter, the better.
The court services crews at the All England Club deploy 18 tarps at a time to keep precious grass courts dry. They’re not above fetching a player a banana or a soft drink, either.
In an era of expertly manicured fields and shared knowledge among groundskeepers, crews have an unexpected tool in their arsenal: the ban on infield shifts.