Visiting Wimbledon
Maria Esther Bueno enjoys her visits to Wimbledon as a Club member
Maria Esther Bueno is taking in some of her tennis clubs in London ahead of The Championships at Wimbledon.
Of course, the All England Lawn Tennis Club is her second home and she takes every possible opportunity to visit and to play there.
“I love The Club,” she says. “It holds such special memories for me and I am also made to feel very welcome by everyone there.
“It fascinates me to see The Championships coming together. They must have an incredible plan because everything seems to fall into place without any panic or stress every year. I suppose they have had a lot of practice, come to think about it!
“Last week I hit indoors with Johnny [Delgado], one of the Wimbledon Pros, and the groundsmen were putting out thousands of plants.
“We hit again this week and all the plants look perfect everywhere, and all in The Club colours!
“Johnny and I have great hits together,” Maria Esther continued.
“He goes for everything with such energy, it motivates me to try harder and hit better!”
“The Club is improving every year, which amazes me. They’ve already done so much to cater for the players, public and media and yet they are working on new things all the time as part of their Master Plan.
“The next big one will be the roof on No 1 Court that will be big bonus to spectators and television audiences worldwide.
“I expect they would like to have this in place already with all the bad weather we’ve been having in London since I got here a few weeks ago, but we will all have to wait until 2019, I think, for that.
“Last year they developed Aorangi Park, the practice site for the players. They now all the facilities there that they have in their main area in the Millennium Building, including dressing rooms and restaurant. It means they can relax there without fighting the crowds to get back for lunch
“Everything they do is very classy!”
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- An impression of Wimbledon’s Master Plan
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- An artist’s impression of the new No.1 Court
In Aorangi Park, there are 22 grass courts for practice before and during The Championships and two green acrylic courts.
The total area, including the Club’s car parks, covers over 42 acres, including the area north of the Centre Court known as Aorangi Park after the Club purchased the 11 acres from John Barker Ltd. of Kensington in 1967.
It subsequently granted a lease to the New Zealand Sports and Social Club who named it ‘Aorangi’, meaning ‘Cloud in the Sky’, which is the Maori name for Mount Cook.
Wimbledon itself consists of 19 grass courts, including Centre Court and No 1 Court, 8 American Clay courts and 5 indoor courts – 2 Greenset Velvelux and 3 Greenset Trophy.
Apart from the grass courts, the courts are used all year round by the Club members and LTA-sponsored players.
The grass courts are in play from May to September, except Centre Court and other Show Courts, which are used only for The Championships.
The courts are lent to a number of clubs and organisations, mainly of a national character, for the staging of various events.
“I haven’t had the chance to hit on the grass at Wimbledon yet, but have been playing indoors which, with all the rain, has been a good thing!
“What I love the most is when I turn a corner in one of the corridors I come across some history that involves me! It gives me such a buzz!!”
The Queen’s Club
Ready to go to The Queen’s Club
Maria Esther was invited to the President’s Box on Thursday to watch the Aegon Championships at The Queen’s Club.
“This is another of my clubs and I love going there but its been a while since I’ve been to the tournament so I was delighted to receive an invitation from the President to his box, where I have never sat before over all these years!
“They do such a wonderful job on the tournament these days, especially the public and hospitality areas.
“We took a walk around the grounds and I was very impressed at the quality of it all – very luxurious. No wonder this is one of THE social events in the London calendar!
“I played in the doubles and mixed here in the tournament for many years and used to practice every day indoors on the wood courts before my matches at Wimbledon with players like Emmo [Roy Emerson], Newk [John Newcombe] and Ken Fletcher.
“I always hit with the men!”
Emerson was honoured at Queen’s this year in recognition of his winning the four singles titles and alongside him on court were Lleyton Hewitt, John McEnroe and Boris Becker, all of whom had also won four times there.
Maria Bueno and Hannah Bryer, Manager of The Queen’s Club Pro Shop
Maria Esther dropped in to the Queen’s Club Shop and met up with Hannah Bryer.
“Hannah has looked after me for years and it is always fun to see what they have there in terms of the latest fashion and products. During Queen’s they do a fantastic trade.
“We had a lovely lunch in the President’s Room and watched from the Box, which is on the balcony just outside. It was all very civilised.
“We were unbelievably lucky with the weather too, although it did rain a bit early on but we got to see three matches before the heavens opened in the evening.
“It was the first time I saw Alijas Bedene play, when the new British No 2 played Andy Murray. It was also the first time in 10 years that two Brits played each other and the first time these two had ever met.
Aljias Bedene, British No 2
“Bedene tried very hard and it was very close for a time but Andy is just too steady and has more weapons so he managed to come through in straight sets and looked to be well on target with his attempt to win a fifth Queen’s Club title.
“Of course, we now know that Andy won the title for a record fifth time, which is an extraordinary feat!
“It is a real pity for British tennis that Bedene is not eligible to play for Great Britain in the Davis Cup. The ITF has ruled him out because he has played three dead rubbers for Croatia, which seems a little unfair since he has lived in the UK for over eight years and applied for citizenship before the rule was changed last year.
“The weather here in London has been very disappointing, I must say, but we were very lucky on Thursday. Just as bad as in Paris and how Queen’s managed to get through all the matches is just amazing.
Andy Murray serves at Queen’s
“The grass courts were very green and damp and there were some quite spectacular falls but no-one has got hurt as far as I know but at times the conditions did look rather dangerous, which wasn’t good ahead of The Championships.
“I still can’t get used to Wimbledon being a week later and kept thinking it would start this Monday which, of course, it didn’t for the second year since The Championships were put back in the calendar.
“This is a good move for the players, to get an extra week on the grass after Paris, particularly with this wet weather around.
“Unfortunately, it produced strange results again. At Queen’s players like [Gilles] Simon and [Stan] Wawrinka and [Nick] Kyrgios all lost in the first round, which was very surprising.
“In Mallorca, where they have built some beautiful grass courts, the new French Champion Garbine Muguruza lost in straight sets to Kirsten Flipkens, which must have been very disappointing for the home crowd. I don’t think they had the excuse of the weather over there either!
A record fifth Queen’s Club title for Andy Murray
“As for Andy, he seemed to get better with each match he played and looked to be more sure of himself.
“I was also impressed with [Milos] Roanic, who has improved so much over the last year. He plays more consistently from the back of the court now, and defends well, which adds a lot to his big serve and volleys and makes him a more complete player.
Milos Raonic, the close runner-up at Queen’s Club
“He played a really good set and a half in that final and looked very confident but he missed a crucial volley at 3-0 and let Murray back into the match.”
What about celebrity coaches then?
“I’d call them experienced players who know what it is all about rather than celebrities,” Maria Esther responded on the likes of Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and Boris Becker now helping Murray, Roanic and [Novak]Djokovic as their coaches.
“It makes a big difference, I think.”
Woodfield Grove Tennis Club
Woodfield Grove’s clubhouse
Maria Esther was the Guest of Honour at Woodfield Grove’s Club Tournament Finals Day on Saturday.
“Once again we were lucky with the weather, although it was a very grey day and rather cool,” she said.
“I have presented the prizes several times before at the club but this time was rather special since I could share my experiences with the Olympics with them, carrying the torch and the naming of the tennis stadium after me makes me feel apart of Rio 2016.
Maria talks about the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
“I couldn’t play in the Olympics because tennis was not on the programme then so to have a chance to be involved now as a Torch Ambassador is the highlight of my life right now.
“I will be involved in several ways when I head home immediately after Wimbledon – as a Bradesco Torch Ambassador I will be carrying the torch in Sao Paulo on 24 July, which is very exciting for me.
“I am also an Ambassador for the Organising Committee and working Pirelli in connection with the Christ The Redeemer Statue, which is such a symbol for Rio and Brazil.
“To be able to tell my friends at Woodfield Grove a little of this, made me feel very proud.
“The finals they played there, while they may not have been to Wimbledon standards, were very competitive and close.
“The best part is that they all got played and none had to be held over because of the weather.
“The club is very hospitable and provided an amazing barbecue lunch and a delicious afternoon tea, which I always love!”
Beckenham Lawn Tennis Club
In action at Beckenham’s 125 year celebrations
Maria Esther has a further treat in store next weekend when Beckenham Lawn Tennis Club celebrates 150 years with an exhibition match, another lavish tea, an outdoor concert and a hog roast dinner.
“Beckenham Club is another one I love to visit because I have had many happy times there and it is practically on the doorstep of where I stay when I visit London,” she said.
Beckenham Lawn Tennis Club as part of Beckenham Cricket Club celebrates 150 years in 2016
“I was pleased to be part of the 125 year celebrations and now to be included in the 150 years is another honour. I’m looking forward to it!”
She will be listening to London City Soul live, a seven-piece group who are professional West End performers, including Curtis Lee Scott, Pierrot and Pablo Maz.
More to follow on this…