Laura Robson has been left really surprised by one element of Queen’s, with the WTA tournament having finished on Sunday.
It marked the end of a really successful week for the event, which welcomed women back to the grounds for the first time since 1973.
However, there were some fears about what a whole extra week of tennis might do to the courts, with grass a unique surface that degrades over time.
Robson, however, was pleased to debunk that worry.
Laura Robson left stunned by the courts at Queen’s
In fact, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, she admitted she was almost stunned by how well the courts have remained.
The tournament director claimed: ‘I can’t actually believe how well they’ve held up. It looks almost pristine still. The ground staff have done an incredible job and put in some serious hours.
‘So far, no complaints from the ATP players on site, and long may that continue.’
Robson outlined her future hopes for Queen’s too, after something she noticed about the crowds.
What have the ATP players said about the Queen’s courts?
The main worry about the women’s event taking place the week before the men’s was that their event might have cut up the grass, leaving it barren by the end of two busy weeks of matches.
However, the response from those who have arrived has already been overwhelmingly positive, with Jack Draper keen to emphasise this.
He stated: ‘I think in terms of the courts, I mean, when the men play on it that first week, it gets very slippy as well, so I’m sure the courts are going to be fine.
’It might be even nicer for us, actually, having the court a bit played in. But no I’ve been watching the women’s all week. It’s been great to see the level of play. I hope they keep it going here in London for sure.’
Naomi Broady then added to this, recalling what Frances Tiafoe stated: ‘I actually bumped into Frances Tiafoe who was out watching the women’s final just now and asked him how the grass was looking, because of course, it’s a live surface so to have the tournaments back-to-back I was quite curious how the men would feel about it.
‘Frances actually says he prefers it, because the grass of course is known to be quite slippery behind the baseline in the first couple of days as it plays it in, so the women have sort of done that job for the men. So, I think we are going to see fingers crossed fewer slips and falls.’
