Your inbox approves Men's coaches poll Women's coaches poll Play to win 25K!
TENNIS
ESPN Inc

Getting around Wimbledon in underground tunnels

Nick McCarvel
Special for USA TODAY Sports
Players and officials utilize the underground system of tunnels to get around the All England Club.

WIMBLEDON, England — When Roger Federer finished signing autographs at the practice facility at Aorangi Park on a sunny afternoon during week one of Wimbledon, the seven-time champion ducked down a concrete stairwell and disappeared into the darkness.

In a metropolis famous for its subway system known as the Tube, the All England Club has taken a page out of the playbook of city planners as the demands of a modern-day Grand Slam have continued to squeeze tournament organizers for space.

It's Wimbledon, underground.

There is more action than ever underneath the grass courts of Wimbledon, where a series of tunnels weave from practice courts through the grounds — and in the ground, literally — as well as new spaces for photographers and ball kids adjoined by a renovated media restaurant, placed sturdily underneath Court 14.

"The idea is that we build down and not just up or out. We've created usable space that can be used by the public (on top)," says Robert Deatker, estate director for the All England Club. "It's about making sure that we're more efficient with space and recognizing that we're limited within our constraints and therefore going down."

Spend a few minutes at the mouth of the tunnel at Aorangi (just past No.1 Court on the north). The players who scale down the stairs are a cast of the sport's stars. Novak Djokovic signs autographs and poses for selfies with screaming fans before heading down at one point. A little while later, Victoria Azarenka is joined by her team and makes her way underground.

"Players need to be able to move around," says Brad Gilbert, a former coach and now an ESPN commentator. "They built a road underground for them to be able to go to practice, and now they have the restaurant underground, too. It's a huge improvement in terms of use of space."

It's all part of the Wimbledon master plan, which forecasts a major overhaul of the grounds, including a roof over No.1 Court by 2019, as well as more operational underground space.

"When I first came to Wimbledon in 1988, there was nothing on the back side of No. 1 Court," explains Todd Woodbridge, a nine-time doubles champion here who serves as an analyst for Australian TV. "There was just a big park there. We used to walk to Aorangi through a big sloping piece of land."

One tunnel stretches from Centre Court and the players' locker rooms and shoots underneath a stretch of Courts 14 and 17, running to No. 1 Court. Another tunnel bypasses that aforementioned sloping piece of land, part of which has become the famed — and overly crowded — Henman Hill, where fans pack in to watch action on a video screen. That latter tunnel, accessible by players as well as service vehicles, runs from under Aorangi to the back of the Millennium Building, where an outdoor player lawn and restaurant exists.

As attendance has continued to climb at this event, walkways have become increasingly crowded, meaning a need for players to get around quickly — and safely — rose. The tunnels were first put into use in 1997.

"I get a little lost sometimes," laughs Azarenka, the former world No. 1. "I believe it's much, much better for the players. It gives the opportunity for us to get away a little bit and relax and not have to worry about walking through a crowd. Personally, I think it should be done at all the tournaments. Walking through the crowd takes a lot of energy out of you. It's a lot of hustle."

"There's definitely nothing like (the tunnels)," says Serena Williams after having walked one of them to her first round match on No. 1 Court. "It's the only experience that we have in tennis like that."

Space issues have presented issues for organizers at both the French and U.S. Opens, as well. The USTA fought with local councils to expand by less than an acre in the last two years, while the French Tennis Federation has been blocked by local votes as it desperately tried to grow outward in the tournament's surrounding residential confines. Roland Garros is known as the most cramped of the four majors.

Also underground is a new player training area that sits under the Millennium Building, next to Centre Court. It includes ice baths, a warm-up and stretching area and private treatment and massage rooms.

"It's fantastic, the player training area," says Pam Shriver, an ESPN contributor. "I think to preserve the look of Wimbledon, you have to (go underground). I think that's very smart to do."

But not everyone agrees. Woodbridge, who also works for Tennis Australia as a media consultant, offers that the firm underground, with concrete slabs and layers of dirt and rocks beneath the courts, provides a different feel for the tennis above.

"What Wimbledon has done is quite visionary to keep the façade of the tournament. But by doing that, they've altered the style of grass-court tennis," Woodbridge says. "If you go back 20 years ago, we played on more natural courts because they had turf bases, they were on natural earth. With the courts that are made now, they are laser-flat. It plays more as a hard-court brand of tennis because of that."

Three-time champion Chris Evert, now an ESPN commentator, says players traveling underground by foot takes away from the fan experience that has made this sport so unique.

"I've never known anything about those tunnels," Evert says. "We used to walk outside all the time. It was fine. We had our guard on the way to matches and fans made way for us. It was all we knew. At the U.S. Open and every other tournament, we always walked through crowds."

In the days leading up to Wimbledon each year, players can be seen making their way from one side of the grounds to the other. But as the tournament gets underway, a high-octane star using a pedestrian walkway can create a nightmare of a human traffic jam.

The master plan calls for more underground space in the coming years, most notably below the current Court 19, which sits at the corner of Henman Hill and No. 1 Court. A public food court and officials' space will occupy that underground area.

Could all the available space under the All England Club at some point be occupied?

"Absolutely," says Deatker, the estate director. "Going underground is a great way to create good quality space and workable areas that link up. It's a great philosophy. When you're short on space, rather than going up, you go down. It's public and seamless on the top level, and underneath it's all business and goods."

"It kind of makes sense," adds Shriver. "When you think of the Tube system here, it's one of the great London institutions. London is a city that is used to things being underground. It makes sense that one of their greatest sporting institutions would develop an underground world, too."

Follow Nick McCarvel on Twitter @NickMcCarvel.

GALLERY: BEST OF WIMBLEDON 2015

Featured Weekly Ad