LONDON, 27 June 2004 — Tennis will be played on the first Sunday at Wimbledon for only the third time in its history, All England club officials said here yesterday.

Light drizzle caused play at Wimbledon to be abandoned at 1735 GMT, the second day to be washed out by rain at this year’s tournament.

The weather confounded all attempts to get the players on court and organizers have decided that there will be play on the middle Sunday of the tournament for third time in the history of the championships after 1991 and 1997.

It was only the 32nd day completely lost to rain in Wimbledon history and only the fourth time the weather has prevented play on two days or more in the tournament. In 1888 three days were lost with two lost in 1909 and 1997.

Seldom can so little rain have caused such much disruption at Wimbledon and the unlucky spectators on Center Court made their frustrations clear with bouts of slow hand-clapping every time the covers were removed from the playing surface.

In a cruel twist, play finally looked set to start at around 1725 GMT, but, with the nets up and the ballboys and girls filing onto Centre Court, the rain returned.

Play was disrupted by the weather earlier this week and Wednesday was a complete washout, leaving 22 matches in the third round of the men’s and women’s singles incomplete.

The All England Club are determined that the tournament should finish on time on Sunday, July 4 and so have decided there should be a third “People’s Sunday”.

“This has been a tough decision to make,” said Chris Gorringe, chief executive of the All England Club. “But everyone with whom we have consulted has been most understanding and cooperative.”

“Fortunately the forecast for Sunday is reasonably encouraging so we should be able to reduce the backlog of matches.”

This morning, 11,000 unreserved tickets for Center Court will go on sale for 35 pounds (US$63.83) each, while 10,000 tickets will be available for number one court at 30 pounds.

There will also be 7,000 ground passes at 15 pounds each on sale, with the gates opening at 9 am local time (0800 GMT) and play starting on all courts two hours later.

“Obviously it’s a huge inconvenience for people...we are encouraging people to come only if they live locally,” Gorringe said.

Organizers have said all 22 singles matches on the order of play for Saturday that are uncompleted would be re-scheduled for today.

Those who are successful in queuing for tickets will therefore be likely to get a chance to see British contender Tim Henman, men’s and women’s champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams as well as US Open champion Andy Roddick.

Henman also played in 1997 on the last “People’s Sunday” and the enthusiasm of his supporters in the five-set thriller against Dutchman Paul Haarhuis was a marked contrast to the normally staid show court audiences.

The organizers aim to complete the third round today to put the championships back on course for its scheduled finish on Sunday, July 4.

Rain has interrupted play for much of the first week, with Wednesday’s entire program washed out.

Persistent drizzle also prevented play getting underway yesterday, the sixth day of the championships.

On Friday, 96 matches were completed, the highest single-day total for six years, leaving a backlog of only six matches in the men’s and women’s singles.

However, more bad weather is forecast for tomorrow and with the third round still not completed, organizers made the decision to play today after liaising with the police and the local authorities.

Navratilova Named in US Tennis Team

Martina Navratilova will have the chance to crown her remarkable career with Olympic gold in August after being named in the United States team yesterday.

Two months short of her 48th birthday, the holder of 58 grand slam titles will make her Olympic debut in the women’s doubles with Lisa Raymond in the Athens tennis tournament which takes place from Aug. 15 to 22.

Defending champion Venus Williams and younger sister Serena will compete in the women’s singles along with Jennifer Capriati and Chanda Rubin, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said in a statement.

Venus and Serena will also attempt to retain the women’s doubles gold they won in Sydney in 2000.

The men’s singles team comprises US Open champion Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, Vince Spadea and Taylor Dent. Roddick and Fish, together with twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, will also contest the doubles.