Peter Nicholls/Reuters
A sign warns people to stay off the Wimbledon grass.
- Over the years at Wimbledon, fewer and fewer players have utilized a serve-and-volley style of approaching the net.
- The change in style can be seen in the wear patterns of the grass over the last 50 years.
- The change of style and its impact on the grass has also taken away one advantage players had of hitting the ball from the baseline.
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In the Open Era of tennis (starting in 1968), strategy at Wimbledon has moved from many players approaching the net with a serve-and-volley style to the almost exclusive strategy of staying back, power shots, and engaging in long rallies.
The impact of the change in style can be seen on the wear patterns of the grass over the fortnight, and that change in the grass has affected how the ball behaves, which further impacts strategy.
Below, we collected images from match point of various Wimbledon finals over the past 50 years to show just how much strategy and the grass have changed.