Don't Miss

ENG

Cricket
Football
NDTV Podcast
Formula 1
Tennis
Golf
Badminton
- Kabaddi
- Boxing
- Athletics
- Chess
- Swimming
- Shooting
- Wrestling
- Table tennis
- Othersports
- NFL
- NBA
- NHL
- US Streamers
- MMA
- WWE

Dark / Light mode

Oct 10,2026 04:13 AM IST

Wimbledon roof closes for 1st time

facebook

twitter

Settings

Change Font Size

A A
Change Language

हिंदी | Hindi
Focus on Story

Select Language

Languages
हिंदी | Hindi

Dark / Light mode

Featured Links
Featured Sports
- Cricket
- Football
- Formula 1
- Tennis
- Hockey
- Golf
- Badminton
More Sports
- Kabaddi
- Boxing
- Athletics
- Chess
- Swimming
- Shooting
- Wrestling
- Table tennis
- Othersports
More from NDTV
- NDTV
- Business
- Hindi
- Movies
- Cricket
- Health
- Food
- Tech
- Auto
- Apps
- Trains

Tennis

News
Features
Blogs
Photos
Videos
Players
Grand Slams

arrow-down reddit snapchat twitter facebook comments email printer search bell top-nav reddit-fill snapchat-fill twitter-fill facebook-fill share whatsapp-fill bookmark arrow-rgt arrow-next arrow-up refresh close link cog star book zap cricket football tennis formula-1 badminton hockey golf boxing ndtv-n check left-arrow right-arrow

Live Cricket Matches

Cricket Matches
Football Matches
All Matches

India Matches

IPL 2026

Football Matches

Cricket Matches
Football Matches
All Matches

ISL

EPL

All Matches

Cricket Matches
Football Matches
All Matches

India Matches

EPL

1st Test, Australia in South Africa, 3 Test Series, 2026 at Durban, Oct 9, 2026

Day 1 Stumps

notify

South Africa

Yet To Bat

Australia

187/6 (65.2)

Australia elected to bat

CRR: 2.87
One-off Test, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in UAE, One-off Test, 2026 at Abu Dhabi, Oct 9, 2026

Day 1 Stumps

notify

Afghanistan

Yet To Bat

Bangladesh

317/8 (84.0)

Bangladesh elected to bat

CRR: 3.77
English Premier League, 2026/27

Match 51 , at London, Oct 10, 2026

Arsenal

Leeds United AFC

Sat, Oct 10, 2026 - 5:00 PM IST
Indian Super League, 2026-27

Match 1 , at Bengaluru, Oct 10, 2026

Bengaluru FC

Sporting Club Delhi

Sat, Oct 10, 2026 - 5:00 PM IST
English Premier League, 2026/27

Match 52 , at Birmingham, Oct 10, 2026

Aston Villa

Brentford

Sat, Oct 10, 2026 - 7:30 PM IST
Match 132, ICC CWC League 2, 2023-27 at Dallas, Oct 9, 2026

Namibia

135/2 (26.0)

United Arab Emirates

134 (37.3)

Namibia beat United Arab Emirates by 8 wickets
2nd T20I, West Indies in India, 5 T20I Series, 2026 at Ranchi, Oct 9, 2026

India

249/5 (20.0)

West Indies

252/4 (18.3)

West Indies beat India by 6 wickets
1st T20I, Sri Lanka in Pakistan, 3 T20I Series, 2026 at Rawalpindi, Oct 9, 2026

Pakistan

187/6 (18.5)

Sri Lanka

182/8 (20.0)

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets

Sports Home Tennis News Wimbledon roof closes for 1st time

Story ProgressBack to home

Wimbledon roof closes for 1st time

The new retractable roof over Centre Court was closed after rain halted play during a 4th-round match with Amelie Mauresmo leading top-ranked Dinara Safina

Written by Agence-France Presse
Updated: June 30, 2009 01:58 pm IST

Read Time: 3 min

Wimbledon, England:

Indoor tennis has come to Wimbledon.

The new retractable roof over Centre Court was closed Monday after light rain halted play during a fourth-round match with Amelie Mauresmo leading top-ranked Dinara Safina, 6-4, 1-4.

The court was initially covered with a green tarp in case the rain subsided so play could resume.

But All England Club officials quickly decided to shut the roof, which is making its debut this year atop the stadium built in 1922. It was the first rain delay of Wimbledon after a sunny first week.

"We've been waiting for it for so long, it's the first time ever at Wimbledon somebody's waiting for rain, but we'd still prefer the sunshine," All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie said. "It's a historic moment in many ways and I'm sure they all feel delighted to be here. We'll be grateful if the sun comes back."

First, the floodlights were switched on, drawing applause, and a minute later, the white steel bars supporting the translucent roof began to move. It took six minutes for the roof's two sections to slide into place, meeting in the middle, at 4:46 p.m. When it was completely closed, spectators roared and many gave a standing ovation. They also shut their umbrellas.

Cool air filled the arena, as the ventilation kicked in to remove moisture from the air. While the scoreboards showed a documentary about the making of the roof, a voice over the loudspeakers announced at 5:10 p.m.: "The good news is play is to resume on Centre Court round about 2 minutes from now."

Indeed, exactly two minutes later, Mauresmo and Safina stepped back onto the court. Mauresmo looked up and checked out the new setup.

Following the usual warmup players are given when returning from a rain delay, the match resumed at 5:19 p.m., 45 minutes after Safina and Mauresmo had left.

On the first point ever played indoors at a tournament that began in 1877, Safina hit a backhand passing winner down the line. Mauresmo hit a 110 mph ace on the next point and eventually added two more aces to hold serve.

There was an unusual echo under the roof, not just when the ball came off the racket, but also on line judges' calls and applause from fans.

Oddly enough, matches on other courts resumed about the same time without the benefit of a roof, because the rain stopped.

Ritchie, the club's chief executive, said organizers would have to decide whether to reopen the roof for the next match on Centre Court, Andy Murray against Stanislas Wawrinka..

"We'll make a completely fresh assessment based on what the weather looks like then and we could open it again. If we can do that, that's certainly what we'll do," Ritchie said.