The All England Club, Wimbledon, confirmed that its new Centre Court retractable roof is on schedule to be ready in time for the Centre Court Celebration matches on Sunday 17 May, when Andre Agassi, Stefanie Graf, Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters will be the first players to play under the new structure.

Final testing of the roof and air-management system is currently being carried out.

The air-management system has a vital role in controlling and stabilising the internal environment within the bowl - essentially controlling humidity and preventing either condensation on the inside of the roof or sweating of the grass - either of which would make the court slippery and unsuitable for play.


Ian Ritchie, Chief Executive of the All England Club, said: "We set out to make Wimbledon the world's premier tennis event; the tournament the players most want to win, the tournament spectators most want to come to and the tournament everyone wants to watch.

"The new Centre Court roof project has been a sophisticated engineering feat. Much of the testing is complete and we are now making final adjustments ahead of the Centre Court Celebration event on 17 May. That event is an important part of the testing procedure and will enable us to see how both the roof and air-management system actually perform under live conditions with a capacity crowd."

(CD/JM)