The way I see it!

The Way I See It by Mary Harboe.

Watching the cheering, dancing fans, waving Japanese and British flags for the Paralympic wheelchair tennis finals in Paris, one could almost taste the excitement of the crowd,  even watching it on a 65” screen, from a comfortable sofa 275 miles away.

At a change of ends, I allowed my mind to drift to the last time I had watched the world number one, Alfie Hewett, in a wheelchair tennis final. It was  at Wimbledon on their Big Screen, sitting cramped, exhausted  and feeling extremely uncomfortable and miserable on an unyielding stone step at the base of Henman Hill (or Murray Mount) on July 14th.

Instead of marvelling at the skill of the players on court one, a mere few feet away, I was preoccupied with whether my legs had gone to sleep permanently or if their stiffness and cramp was just temporary. Would I ever be able to stand up again – let alone with any degree of elegance? As the space around us filled up, I have to confess that these concerns over-rode enjoyment of watching our Norfolk hero beat the Spaniard, Martin de la Puente, (6-2 6-3).

This was not the way it was meant to be. Hours before, as dawn was breaking, I was full of happy anticipation as I buttoned up my specially selected strawberry-decorated shirt and pulled on a pair of cream trousers.

It was back in the dark days of winter that The Husband had splashed out on two extremely expensive tickets for the men’s finals and we were looking forward to seeing Alcaraz and Djokovic later that day.  However, as the tournament progressed, for us, the icing on the cake would be watching Alfie. Could it be third time lucky for the Norfolk lad who had been cruelly beaten in two previous Wimbledon men’s finals.

Like The Husband (who now plays for the county Over 75s), Alfie also trains in Norwich, at the head quarters of the Norfolk LTA, so we have followed his career with interest over recent years. The fact that he had reached the finals again this year and was due to be on court at 11.00am was definitely a good enough reason to set the alarm for 5.00.

Previously, we had watched him compete on outside courts in early rounds at Wimbledon and it has been encouraging to see a steady growth of interest in supporting wheelchair tennis as Alfie’s trophy collection has grown.

Only a few hours after winning the Wimbledon singles on July 14th, together with his British doubles partner, Gordon Reid, Alfie went on to win the doubles in what he would later describe as “the best day of my life”.

Bringing the story up to date, this brilliant doubles partnership also won a gold medal in Paris. However, sadly, the singles gold was snatched from Alfie’s grasp – in a nail-biting final – by 18-year-old Tokita Oda.

Alfie is inspirational in the truest sense of the word – fellow Paris Paralympian, 17-year-old Ben Bartram (another Norfolk boy), openly speaks about Alfie as being his motivation for taking up wheelchair tennis; and I’m certain that many others around the world would echo that sentiment.

But, I digress – the purpose of this article is to have a rant about the ridiculous policy of the All England Lawn Tennis Club which would rather the wheelchair finals were played in front of a small handful of spectators – almost completely devoid of atmosphere – than allow supporters in (even for a nominal fee) to watch and cheer on the players.

Call us naive, but it had never occurred to either The Husband or me, that our  high value Centre Court tickets would not allow us access to other courts especially to the almost empty wheelchair venue.

Eventually, it was suggested that we stagger over to the far edge of the site – to the ticket re-sale office – where we would be able to part with more money for tickets which would allow unlimited access to Court 1 matches – all day, which, of course, we didn’t need.

Harrumph ! That was never going to work. Having just recovered from a nasty bout of Covid which left me with limited energy resources, I took one look at the crowds and the fast filling hill and realised, with a jolt, that even putting the financial cost and rip-off element to one side, the trek to the ticket office would take longer than Alfie would need to beat his opponent; and in the meantime we would miss  what remained of the match.

So, gingerly, we sat down, on the ground, in front of The Big Screen.

Evelyn Waugh was right: comparisons are odious, but watching Alfie and Gordon’s (and Ben’s) progress through the Paralympic rounds at Roland Garros, has been exciting and enjoyable with several thousand spectators court-side, waving flags and cheering them on.

According to Google, Paralympic tickets for the early rounds of wheelchair tennis start from as little as €15 with at least half the tickets being €25 or less. You could, apparently, watch the finals for between €20 and €100.

Wimbledon take note: Your ticket rules are greedy and unfair. Playing in front of empty seats is not only dispiriting for the players but, by televising near empty stands, you are broadcasting to the world the false message, that there is not much interest in watching wheelchair tennis.

I have written this article to refute this.  If you had taken the Paralympic philosophy of encouraging spectators, then Alfie and Co – as well as all the viewers at home  – would have enjoyed the same electric atmosphere as in Paris, which – I think, we’ will all agree – is something they richly deserve.

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