Details of a Wimbledon secret tunnel have emerged, with its construction coming after security concerns were raised.
With the world's best tennis players playing and practicing at the All England Club, security and privacy are both paramount. The two-week tournament attracts tens of thousands of spectators every day, on top of a significant media presence.
This year, reigning champion Novak Djokovic has addressed privacy issues amid reports the father of rival Carlos Alcaraz had filmed one of his practice sessions. The top two seeds were both on the practice courts on Monday, and the Serb said he was "not completely relaxed in training" despite public access to the sessions being limited.
Justin Smith, head of estate development at the All England Club, shed some light on the secret tunnel and its origins. He said it existed “mostly to remove vehicles from the site, to keep the security of the site to a perimeter”.
“The players are not being dropped off in front of (the player’s facilities) anymore and onto the players’ lawn, they are being dropped off in Somerset Road," Smith added. “They then walk down through a tunnel which we started building when we built Courts 14 and 15, so quite a while ago.
“That means that this is secure, we don’t have lots of vehicles coming back and forwards in. That has always been something that was flagged to us as a security issue. That has always been a long-term aspiration.”
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Djokovic continued his phenomenal recent run at Wimbledon on Tuesday, beating Andrey Rublev in four sets. The reigning champion is looking to win at SW19 for a fifth time in a row, and is due to take on Jannik Sinner for a place in the final.
He is also still on track for a calendar slam after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open final before getting the better of Casper Ruud at Roland Garros. However, he has publicly addressed privacy issues as he chases glory.
"That's the situation we are all in, the circumstances are such that we don't have privacy in training, although sometimes I would like to have more privacy," he said. "Then it gives me more opportunities to try some things, to communicate more clearly with my team.
"The fact is that you are not completely relaxed in training. You know your rivals are there, you know everyone is looking over your shoulder at what's going on, what you're working on.
"Every shot is measured, evaluated and assessed. That, through some analysis, affects the eventual meeting with Alcaraz or anyone tomorrow. Concentration is required. For me, training is like a match. I bring that intensity to training as well."
