Wimbledon officials considering moving schedule a week later

The officials at the All England Club, the organizers of the Wimbledon Championships, are said to be in talks of moving the grasscourt Slam tournament’s schedule by a week which means that there will be a gap of three weeks between the French Open and Wimbledon as opposed to the usual two-week gap.

According to reports, the proposed schedule move has been getting positive responses from the players because it will given them enough time to transition from claycourts to grasscourts. This was revealed by All England Club Chief Executive Richard Lewis. The changes could take effect as early as 2014.

Players in the past have long requested to have more time between the Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

“The grass court season has always been too short,” 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt said.

“It’s pretty tough for guys like Rafa, Djokovic and that to bounce back a couple of weeks after the French and expect them to play their best tennis,” he added.

World number one Djokovic said the schedule change can be beneficial for top players.

“It would give especially the top players a little bit more time to get used to the surface,” Djokovic said.

“Logically speaking, it is the slowest surface that we’re talking about – clay – moving to the fastest one, which takes time. Over the years we all had to adjust. We will try to find a better solution,” he added.

Meanwhile, 2012 and seven-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal said he’s fine with the proposal.

“I always say it’s great to play more and more on clay and grass, because those surfaces are historic in the world of tennis,” he said.

“In the past, most of the tournaments were on clay and grass,” the 2008 and 2010 Wimbledon champion added.