The Grass is Always Golden at the Olympic Games After a 104-year absence, Olympic Tennis returns to Wimbledon.
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Even with the usual excitement and anticipation that comes once “I probably won’t know ‘til I actually will start competing,” said U.S. every four years before the start of the Summer Games, tennis fans Olympic team member Varvara Lepchenko when asked how she got an extra shot of adrenaline when it was announced that the would feel when she walks out onto the grass courts again. “But historic lawns of the All England Lawn and Tennis Club would be the honestly Wimbledon is the start of all tennis and it’s very special to site of the Olympic Tennis competition for the fortnight. For some be able to play out there.” tennis players competing in London, it’s a second chance this year to compete again on the most famous stage in tennis while others are This isn’t the first year that Olympic tennis has been held on the just happy to embrace the moment of representing their country in Wimbledon grounds. Way back in 1908 during London’s first the biggest event in sports. Olympic Games, tennis was held during separate times of the year both indoors and outdoors with the outdoor matches held at the “I certainly wasn’t disappointed when London won the Games and AELTC when it was based on its former site of Worple Road. When it looked like it would be played at Wimbledon on grass,” said Andy the Olympics returned to London in 1948, tennis was no longer Roddick who competed in the Olympics back in 2004 and is now part of the Games so it’s only now in 2012 that the event returns to back on Team USA for the London Games. “Obviously there are Wimbledon after a 104-year absence. another couple of clay court venues in the mix for tennis which I probably wouldn’t have liked as much. I think our team generally Though Wimbledon is steeped in its own traditions and protocols, likes playing on the grass, so it fits well.” many of them will be ignored during the Olympic fortnight as the familiar green backboards of the courts will instead be covered with
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