The Matches Loom, but Wimbledon Is Forever

In the Gentlemen’s Dressing Room of the main clubhouse at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the attendant who collects the dirty towels wears a tie.

Wimbledon, which is what all but members of the A.E.L.T.C.C. call the A.E.L.T.C.C., is an anachronism in other ways as well. (Reflect for a moment and you’ll realize that much of English life is an anachronism.) It is the essence of Englishness: stolid, wry, contrary, exceedingly proper.

The committee that decides on such things calls a hot dog served at Wimbledon “a sausage in a crusty bread.” Tournament players may be fined for swearing, or scratched for wearing any clothing that isn’t regulation white “except for a cardigan, pullover or headwear.” From the official guidebook: “Male spectators are requested not to remove their shirts at any times.” The book makes no reference to females.

Yes, tradition. How English. How English, too, that Wimbledon--the premier tennis tournament in the world--is the only such championship event still played on grass.

Just how inside-out is this policy? “By sticking with grass,” wrote Peter Bodo in Tennis magazine, “Wimbledon is isolated from the tennis community at large while still serving as its centerpiece. There is no stranger state of affairs in sport.”

For this stubbornness, Wimbledon is revered. For about two weeks each summer (the “fortnight” runs this year from June 24 to July 7), multitudes assemble on Church Road outside the big gates, negotiating with touts (scalpers) on the lowest price for a ticket to Centre Court.

It is at Centre Court, on the final days of the fortnight, where The Championships are decided. Not the Wimbledon Championships, the United Kingdom Championships or even the All-England Championships. It is enough--even to those who’ve never stumbled at the net, tripped on the baseline or missed a perfectly setup overhead shot--to say only The Championships .

During this time, Wimbledon is all but inaccessible to the visitor unless he or she is rich enough to deal on the street, patient enough to queue for hours or days, lucky enough to win a public lottery, or be part of royalty.

No regrets, though, if you can’t make the big show: There’ll always be a Wimbledon to visit the rest of the year. And a wonderful tennis museum, which includes access to view the legendary Centre Court. Sure, the court will be empty for those 50 weeks--it is exclusively reserved for play during The Championships. But you might imagine the ghosts of Borg and Laver and Navratilova and Evert hovering about.

The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum is only a 15-minute ride from central London via the Underground, a cheap day out (admission for adults is about $2.70). It is a gratifying trip for guests who have even the slightest affection for the game.

The 14-year-old museum--opened in 1977 to mark the centenary of The Championships--is built on a combination of endearing artifacts, period pieces (like a reconstructed Victorian drawing room and terrace), mini-halls of fame and audio and video displays. The marketing folks at the A.E.L.T.C.C.--who some years ago decided it would be profitable to license the club’s adopted name--have also installed a sizable gift shop. Souvenirs, unlike The Championships, are a year-round business.

The museum’s collection of memorabilia from the Victorian and Edwardian eras includes costumes--crinoline was very “in” at garden tea parties in the late 1800s--as well as some unusually strung rackets (one done diagonally) and elaborate tennis-themed ornamental jewelry and desk sets.

Chris Evert fans will gush over a small alcove devoted to her farewell. Evert’s three ladies singles championships don’t compare with Martina Navratilova’s record nine titles, yet she has apparently won the hearts of the Brits over the years. There’s a full-length portrait, a video of some of her finer moments on Centre Court and rather fantastic statistics on her Wimbledon play: Of 111 singles matches played, she won 96.

The video on display in the museum’s little auditorium during my recent trip was the just-released “Wimbledon ‘90” tape, a capsule of highlights from last year’s matches. Martina looks immense defeating Zina Garrison; Boris Becker is tentative against eventual champion Stefan Edberg.

Just beyond the theater is a graphic display on the development of the racket--from the flimsy-looking ash-wood contraptions of decades past to the sexy, streamlined wide-bodies of the ‘90s. You’ll also discover that no longer is cat gut used to string racquets. Today’s gut comes from sheep and cattle intestines, and it takes about 33 feet of the stuff to string a racquet.

If the museum is indeed inhabited by friendly ghosts, they nearly come alive in the champions’ gallery, among the trophies, pictures and profiles of legends such as Jack Kramer, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Fred Perry, Helen Wills Moody, Virginia Wade, Billie Jean King, Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe.

Just beyond the wall of fame are some of the mementos left to the A.E.L.T.C.C. by the players: Edberg’s shoes from his 1988 victory, Pat Cash’s headband from 1986, the Dunlop Max 200G that McEnroe used in 1985.

The final touch is a quick trip across the floor and outside, where a short tunnel leads to a rectangular platform about two-thirds of the way up Centre Court. The grass may not be greener in Wimbledon, but in late May it was lush and luminous.

For those who just “must” go to Wimbledon for the upcoming tournament in late June, there are options.

The most certain way to see important matches during the last four days of the fortnight is to book a package through the American offices of Keith Prowse & Co., a British ticket agency that has an exclusive contract with the All England club.

The six-night finals package includes entry to the men’s finals, the women’s semifinals and one other day of admission. A central London hotel is included, as are some hospitality amenities. Air travel, which is not part of the package, must be booked on British Airways. The cost is $2,419 per person, double occupancy.

There’s also a five-night tour that includes admission to the women’s final and the men’s semifinal ($2,211 per person, double, air extra), and three nights at a London hotel, plus two days’ general admission to the meeting, for $327 per person.

The Wimbledon packages are usually sold out by March, but a Prowse spokesperson said last week that of the 10 types of packages offered, eight are still available and there are always cancellations. Call (800) 669-8687.

Dealing with the touts on game days is a risk. Prices can vary wildly (depending on matchups, weather and gullibility) and forgeries are real possibilities. And Wimbledon executives promise that this year, police will be more aggressive in chasing away scalpers.

During the first 10 days of the tournament, Wimbledon guarantees to put on sale daily a limited number of Centre Court tickets (about 600, many of them with obstructed views), priced from about $20 to about $50. The queue begins at sunrise, or before. A few standing-room tickets are also sold on the final days.

Returns are a Wimbledon institution. Patrons who leave before the end of the match deposit their ticket stubs in a special box, and the club resells them very cheaply (the money goes to charity). Some of these seats can be superb--luck is a factor. Be prepared to wait in a queue.

For the 1992 Championships, you’ve got until the end of this year to apply to the club for a lottery form. Early next year, the club holds a public draw for Centre and No. 1 Court tickets. Rules change annually for this lottery. For more information, send an international reply coupon and a self-addressed envelop between August and Dec. 31 to the All England Club, P.O. Box 98, Church Road, Wimbledon SW19 5AE, England.

Serving Up Wimbledon Trivia

If British tennis is your cup of tea, here are a few things to think about:

--During a typical Championship “fortnight” (two weeks each summer; this year from June 24 to July 7), about 31,000 balls are used (in typical English fashion, the official guidebook notes “about 2,600 dozen balls”). New balls are tossed in after every nine games.

--The Queen last attended The Championships in 1977, when she viewed the matches from the Royal Box, a segregated platform at the south end of Centre Court. It is not known for whom she cheered.

--Wimbledon is one of the four Open tournaments that make up the Grand Slam; the U.S., French and Australian opens complete the list.

--During the tournament, each competitor is allowed one seat on the Centre and No. 1 courts for one guest, good only on alternate days.

--Over the doorway leading to the Players’ Waiting Room at Centre Court reads this inscription from Rudyard Kipling:

“If you can meet with triumph and disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same.” “Most players,” says chief executive Christopher Gorringe, “don’t read it.”

--The shortest women’s singles final was 25 minutes in 1911: Mrs. R.L. Chambers defeated Mrs. P.D.H. Boothby, 6-0, 6-0. The longest men’s final, in 1982, was 4 hours, 16 minutes; Jimmy Connors edged John McEnroe in five sets.

--Most of the obstructed-view seats in Centre Court (which holds a total of 13,107 bodies) will be eliminated after this year’s tournament, when the roof will again be raised and most of the pillars will be replaced.

Contrary to popular belief, it is the Bath bun, not strawberries and cream, that is the traditional Wimbledon food. The bun is a danish pastry, sort of, sprinkled with sugar and layered with sultanas. Airy of texture and delicate of flavor, it is reputed to be the perfect complement to a nice cuppa (cup of tea, that is).