The addition of a roof to tennis tournaments has been seen as a blessing since they made their appearance. At Wimbledon the roof on centre court comes into action when there is rain, which is usually a problem at least once during the grass court event in Britain. In Australia the roof is used in the rain, and also in the heat.
When the roof is deployed, the tennis is able to continue and the fans with tickets on the court will see the end of their scheduled matches on that court. The players taking part on the courts with a roof only face a short delay as the roof is put into position. Is this is a win-win situation? Maybe not.
Think for a moment about the players who have not been scheduled to play on courts with a roof. If inclement weather strikes and the players are taken off court as they are on a court without a roof, this could be a passing shower, or a much longer period of rain. Generally this will lead to having to change the published schedules and long waits for the players.
Players like Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Novak Djokovic are well used to weather delays, having been on the tour for a while and they have witnessed the building of the roof at events, and played before the roof was built and after. Younger players and those who have not experienced these situations before are more likely to struggle with the cancellation of matches than the tour old hands.
In the worst case scenarios, matches are cancelled for the day. The effect on players to whom this occurs could depend on how experienced they are. It certainly gives an advantage to the players who can continue on the court with the roof as their schedule is not disrupted in any big way. Those players who are not on a court with a roof lose part of their schedule and could find themselves having to play twice in a day as the event tries to get back on track. Every player would probably not go into the tournament hoping or expecting to have a weather delay, but they will prepare the best they can before and after the match.
Although there is a distinct advantage in having a roof, it really only benefits a few matches and those not on the specific court with a roof are certainly disadvantaged with delays; sometimes a day, sometimes longer depending on the weather. There doesn’t seem to be a fair way to resolve this, as no-one can control the climate.
One option would be to play all events on indoor courts or to install a roof on every court. Option one would be boring with no challenge of a different surface, leading to domination of the indoor hard court or indoor clay specialists, and the second option would be far too expensive with smaller events not able to afford the costs of implementing a roof on every court.
