How to achieve the 'Wimbledon' lawn look

To prepare the courts ready for the tournament, they follow a spring lawn care guide (such as this article here) and begin by heavily seeding using 100% ryegrass. 100% ryegrass is used because it is tough and durable - more so than the 70% rye and 30% creeping red fescue they used up until making the switch for the 2001 tournament.

A total of 9 tonnes of grass seed is used across Wimbledon each year, but to achieve the same look in your garden hopefully you won't need as much!

Once the new grass reaches 15mm in height it has its first cut. Then throughout May it is mowed 3 times per week, keeping it at a 15mm height. 

The grass undergoes daily nutrient testing where levels are checked, with special attention paid towards the nitrogen levels to avoid it getting too lush and slippery for play.

Chlorophyll levels are monitored closely to check it doesn't get too stressed out, which would in turn cause problems in it recovering during play.

A machine with a grass court tennis shot attachment is used to pace the court for two weeks prior to the start of the tournament, to simulate playing conditions and weed out how those blades of grass that will not be up for the job.

Giant air conditioning units are used to suck any moisture out of the air, stopping any from resting on the grass which could potentially cause disease.

Then on the week before the tournament the levels of nitrogen are reduced, and are compensated by upping the levels of iron to help keep the lush green colour.

Every morning the lawn is cut to 8mm height, and then every evening it is given a light watering to help it recover. The grass is rolled with care and attention with each blade of grass being rolled in the same direction that it has been all year.

Once the tournament is over, and we have a new winner, the lawns are maintained by being cut three times per week, and are watered as and when required. The post-tournament care routine helps the lawn mature and recover.

The lawn is kept at a 13mm height, kept short to remove the week and weedy grass. The winter is also when they perform the levelling, distributing 6 tonnes of soil over the courts to ensure it is perfectly flat. before starting all over again.