All You Need to Know About the Wimbledon Championships 2019 Roof

The Wimbledon Championships 2019 roof has been an important addition to the event in recent years. The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) had installed a retractable roof on the Centre Court in 2009. After the success of the retractable roof on the Centre Court, the club installed another roof on the No.1 Court, this year.

The building of the Wimbledon Championships retractable roof began with the removal of the existing roof over the stands at the end of the Wimbledon Championships 2006. There was no roof over the stands during the event in the following year. During the 2008 Championships, the fixed parts of the new construction were visible.

The Wimbledon Championships retractable roof was finally completed and was unveiled in April 2009. The roof was tested with a capacity audience during an exhibition match in May 2009, prior to the start of the Championships.

While in 2013, The All England Lawn Tennis Club decided to install another roof over No. 1 court. The construction of the roof was completed on time, this year. The Wimbledon Championships 2019 roof over No. 1 court was unveiled at a celebratory in June 2019.

The Wimbledon Championships 2019 roof on the Centre Court takes only 10 minutes to close, during which the play is suspended. However, the transition from outside to inside play can take up to 45 minutes as the air-conditioning system accumulated the stadium.

The Wimbledon Championships 2019 roof was designed by SCX Special Projects Ltd and the control system of the retractable roof was designed by Fairfield Control Systems Ltd. and Moog.

The roof over the No.1 court was installed by contractor Sir Robert McAlpine.

The Wimbledon Championships 2019 roof on the center court has ten trusses with each weighing 100 tonnes. The total weight of the Wimbledon Championships roof is 3000 tonnes. The height of the roof is 16 meters from the surface of the court. When fully deployed, the roof covers an area of 5200-meter square.

The roof over the No.1 Court has two more trusses than that of the roof over the Centre Court due to a larger aperture. The retractable roof over the No. 1 Court requires 164 drives and motors for its mobility.

The total cost of the Wimbledon Championships 2019 roof has not been disclosed by the Club, but according to the reports, it is estimated at £80–£100 million.

The roof over No. 1 Court cost £71million to the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).

The retractable roof over the Centre Court and No. 1 Court can be deployed in wind conditions of up to 63 Kilometers per hour or 43 Miles per hour.

With the help of the lights installed on the retractable roof, play can be continued till 11 pm local time. The lights which come automatically when the roof is deployed meets the level required by high definition television telecast.