Wimbledon 2021: Wimbledon defends state of courts after players' criticism & slips

World number one Novak Djokovic hit the ground again during his second-round match on Wednesday

Wimbledon 2021 on the BBC
Venue: All England Club Dates: 28 June-11 July
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Wimbledon says its courts are "as good as they have always been" in response to mounting criticism as players continued to suffer falls on Wednesday.

Serena Williams and Adrian Mannarino retired injured on Centre Court following slips on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Australian Nick Kyrgios said the courts were a "joke" and too slow.

Former British number one Tim Henman, a member of the All England Club [AELTC] board, told the BBC: "It's about controlling the controllables."

He added: "In terms of the preparation of the surface - the science and the readings - we have all that data.

"Wimbledon will leave no stone unturned and we hope there will be no more injuries. The courts are as good as they have always been."

'The courts are super slippery'

France's Adrian Mannarino led Roger Federer 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 3-6 4-2 when he slipped and injured his knee

Frenchman Mannarino led Roger Federer 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 3-6 4-2 when he was forced to retire through injury, with Federer suggesting the surface had become "more slippery under the roof" which was closed for large parts of the first two days at the Championships because of rain.

World number one Novak Djokovic said he did not recall "falling this many times on court" after taking several tumbles in his opener against Britain's Jack Draper on Monday, and he suffered more slips during his second-round match against Kevin Anderson on Centre Court on Wednesday.

Earlier on day three, John Isner suffered a nasty fall during his match against Yoshihito Nishioka on court 18 but was able to continue, while Canadian fifth seed Bianca Andreescu slipped on several occasions during her first-round defeat by Alize Cornet.

"I didn't slip just once. I slipped like six times during the match," Andreescu said. "I felt my ankle a little bit, just for like two, three points but then it went away. It was fine.

"The courts are super slippery. I have only played here once before, but the courts weren't like this at all. I spoke to a couple of other players and they said it's not that normal, but this is something we can't really control."

Meanwhile, Kyrgios, whose match against French 21st seed Ugo Humbert was suspended after the 23:00 BST curfew forced an end to play in the final set on Tuesday, criticised the speed of play on the courts.

"It should be fast in here. They've made it slow. This isn't grass anymore," said the Australian, who suggested the surface even required watering.

He was backed up by compatriot Jordan Thompson on Wednesday, who during his first-set tie-break against Norwegian Casper Ruud said: "It's comical this grass, it's not grass anymore!"