Wimbledon's Centre Court Gets New Look With Retractable Roof

Wimbledon, home to the world's most prestigious tennis tournament, shows off its new look Sunday with the debut of its retractable roof, the centerpiece of "A Centre Court Celebration." Past Wimbledon champions — and married couple — Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf played in an all-star exhibtion, along with Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters. The husband-and-wife team lost out to their opponents but clearly enjoyed every moment of being on the court, exchanging a kiss as the end of the match.


All four players gave the enclosed ­environment their approval. "They were the most fantastic playing conditions. There was no moisture on the court at all," Henman said, allaying Wimbledon's fear that condensation would be a major problem once the roof was closed and the costly investment in an air-management system would prove to have been a waste of money. "It's a lot warmer than it was but there's no excuses with the condition of the court."

So what about the roof from the spectator's point of view? Traditionally, the east-west swivel, eyes fixed on the trajectory of the ball, causes Wimbledon neck. On this particular day, though, it was the north-south movement that did the damage with glances cast upwards with the regularity of a group of tourists shepherded into the Sistine Chapel.