A patch of grass has been concreted over on Centre Court due to a contractor gaffe on the eve of Wimbledon.
TV viewers tuning in to cheer on the likes of Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu at this year's tournament will notice a large patch of grass missing from one corner of the court in the All England Club's main arena. The affected piece of turf is close to the Royal Box, where VIP visitors will take in the action over the next two weeks.
Mirror Sport understands the problem was caused after a mishap from a contractor called in to help the arena to prepare for Wimbledon. The gaffe, caused by those working on the roof at Centre Court, led to a patch of grass being killed.
As it was determined to be too late to simply allow the grass to grow back, the affected area of the court was removed so that there would be no issue preventing the main arena from hosting matches from today, as the main draw gets under way. Mirror Sport has contacted the tournament organisers for comment.
Centre Court will host three of the main attractions on Day 1 this year, starting with 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. As number one seed for the tournament, the Serbian is the favourite to defend his title from last year and starts his campaign against Kwon Soon-woo.
After that, the Brits take centre stage with Emma Raducanu playing a Wimbledon match as a seeded player for the first time. She was barely known outside tennis circles when she made her unlikely run to the fourth round last year, and now appears in SW19 as the firm home favourite in the women's draw.
After her match against Alison van Uytvanck, the Centre Court crowd will get its chance to cheer on Andy Murray as he returns to the site of two of his three Grand Slam successes. The 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon champion takes on James Duckworth in the final scheduled match of the day.
Other highlights from day one include Cameron Norrie, who faces a tricky first round tie against Pablo Andujar on Court 2. Spanish dark horse Carlos Alcaraz is also in action, taking on Jan-Lennard Struff on Court 1, while the likes of Casper Ruud, Ons Jabeur and Jannik Sinner will also play.
A statement from the All England Lawn Tennis Club said: "Centre Court has had a similar area of concrete in the corner of the court for a number of years. Due to the moving back of the canvasses, it appears bigger, but it is consistent with what has been there before. It has been painted green for aesthetic reasons, in keeping with the painting of the court surrounds."
