Toughest Transition in Sports
These two weeks between the end of the French Open and the start of Wimbledon mark a time in tennis that doesn’t exist in any other sport… or at least one that I can think of! The French Open and Wimbledon are two of the four biggest tournaments of the year and they are separated by barely two weeks! The players may be tired after a month or so of the clay court season, but these precious weeks must be spent practicing or
playing tournaments on grass aka no rest for the weary! The conditioning and training is also very different for grass compared to clay courts where sliding and longer rallies increase the strain on the legs. Slick, fast grass courts may require sliding at times, but players need to do more quick, shifting moves than on the dirt. In addition, most players try to come to net more on grass, shorten their backswings and serve and volley more often than on other surfaces which requires a subtle mental and strategic shift, as well as stress on different parts of the body. Tennis players need to be very versatile to be successful given the variety of surfaces and conditions in which they compete, but these two weeks are one of the greatest challenges during the year. It is therefore even more remarkable when one thinks back to Bjorn Borg’s success at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon for so many years in a row… I bet that will never be repeated!
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