Jaeger, Wimbledon Open Doors for Ailing Children

There is the public image of the All England Club and chances are it is a bit like when the shirts came back with a little too much starch.

Stiff, unyielding and a little slow to loosen up.

Then there is the private, behind-the-scenes image. Underneath the cliched break-no-rules exterior of restraint is a completely different appearance.

Every year, for the last six, Wimbledon has thrown open its doors and done everything possible to create a special day for Andrea Jaeger and her dozen or so guests, most of them children with life-threatening illnesses from hospitals throughout the United Kingdom.

Wimbledon always took care of Jaeger when she was a player. She reached the final here in 1983 and lost to Martina Navratilova but won the hearts of officials with her youthful exuberance and generous spirit.

Now Wimbledon Chief Executive Christopher Gorringe takes care of these special guests, Jaeger and company, right down to providing transportation for them, complete with colored balloons this year.

Almost no doors are closed to Jaeger and her kids. At the entrance to the players’ dining area, Jaeger and two of the children slipped ahead of her assistant and an acquaintance.

If one doesn’t have the right pass, that’s a dead end under ordinary circumstances. It is mentioned that Andrea is up ahead. The door opened.

This year could have been a real mess with all the rain and the delays.

For instance, the kids were supposed to watch one of Andre Agassi’s practices, but rain created havoc with the schedule. “So Andre said, ‘Well, you know what? Just bring them over to the house,’ ” Jaeger said.

Fifteen-year-old Sarah Mott of Wales smiled shyly when asked her favorite memory of Wimbledon.

“Being with Andre,” she said.

That was before she met Monica Seles a day later. The children were transported in the mini-van to Seles’ flat and it was a surprise for them when Monica came walking down the stairs.

“It was very special for me and my mom,” Seles said.

Seles is one of the biggest supporters of Jaeger’s Kids’ Stuff Foundation, based in Aspen, Colo. Her father, Karolj, died of cancer shortly before the French Open and one of the designated charities for donations in lieu of flowers was Kids’ Stuff. One of the things Seles and her father managed to do before he passed away was to visit the ranch at Aspen in December.

“He went dog-sledding,” Seles said. “And he loved it.”

Seles and Jaeger have become close. Jaeger attended one of Seles’ news conferences here after the first round and Seles beamed when she spotted Jaeger at the side of the room.

“The past two years we’ve talked a lot on the phone,” Seles said. “But I really got to know her at the dinner at Manhattan Beach [in August]. It’s unbelievable what she does. I wish there would be more people like that. It just brings a smile to the kids. My dad was 63 [when he died]. It’s so hard with the young ones. You want to say the right thing. She [Jaeger] cheers them up.”

Jaeger seemed to be able to say the right thing at the right time, and knew exactly when to bring something like an extra sweatshirt just when it got cold and rainy, a daily development.

Sarah and another youngster, Ella from nearby Bedfordshire [“I’m 9 and a quarter”], journeyed over to the television center to the HBO studio to meet legends Navratilova and Billie Jean King.

“Let’s go say hi to Martina; she beat me in the Wimbledon final one year,” Jaeger said.

The girls had their picture taken with Navratilova, King and Mary Carillo. Sarah, who has undergone brain surgery, was wearing a baseball cap, and Jaeger explained:

“She has a good luck scar, you rub it for good luck,” Jaeger said. “But there’s a special rule: You have to have won five Wimbledon titles.”

King and Navratilova proceeded.

Jaeger’s schedule is hectic. After her brief Wimbledon sojourn, she was off to a camp session in Switzerland. Her parents are there. “They act as interpreters,” she said.

Her next appearance in Southern California will be at the $450,000 Acura Classic at the Manhattan Country Club for a dinner and auction on Aug. 12 benefiting Kids’ Stuff. [Details: (310) 545-3200] Among the players expected to compete in the tournament that week include top-ranked Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Seles and Serena Williams. Venus Williams and Serena Williams are scheduled to play doubles.

The kids were thrilled to meet Seles, Jaeger said.

She had one other item to report.

“Monica rubbed Sarah’s scar for good luck,” Jaeger said, talking on the stairs at Centre Court after Agassi’s second-round loss to Tommy Haas.

And then she was gone.

It struck home that Jaeger was the most upbeat person on the grounds during these cloudy, rainy, dreary days. Which makes sense, actually, if you think about the name of the facility Jaeger founded in Aspen for the kids.

It’s the Silver Lining Ranch.