All England Board Member Defends Wimbledon Court Prep After Serena Williams' Injury

Former tennis star Tim Henman downplayed concerns about the state of the playing surface this year at Wimbledon after multiple players, including Serena Williams, have lost their footing in matches.

"Wimbledon will leave no stone unturned and we hope there will be no more injuries," said Henman, who's now a member of the All England club board, to the BBC. "The courts are as good as they have always been."

He added that Wimbledon officials "have all that data" regarding the court surfaces.

Williams is the most notable player to slip on the grass at Wimbledon. She attempted to play on but was forced to retire from her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. 

Adrian Mannarino also retired in the fifth set of his encounter against Roger Federer after slipping along the baseline.

Falls aren't uncommon during a tennis match, especially on grass and clay since they don't offer the same kind of grip as a hard court. But multiple players have expressed critical opinions of the surface at the All England Club.

"I didn't slip just once; I slipped like six times," Bianca Andreescu said. "The courts are super slippery. I have only played here once before, but they weren't like this at all. I spoke to a couple other players, and they said it's not that normal. But this is something we can't really control."

Federer expressed a similar sentiment.

"I do feel it feels a tad more slippery maybe under the roof," the eight-time champion said. "I don't know if it's just a gut feeling. You do have to move very, very carefully out there. If you push too hard in the wrong moments, you do go down."

While expressing his disappointment for Williams, Murray also referenced the state of the court on Twitter:

Henman said maintaining the grass has been a little more difficult this year because of the weather in London, which has hindered the extent to which the courts are able to dry.

The All England Club also said the courts "will continue to firm up" with each match that is played.

That's unlikely to provide much comfort to Williams or Mannarino, though.