Wimbledon Championships
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The order of play for all courts is displayed on boards around the grounds
week in exceptional circumstances. The remaining seventeen courts are regularly used for other events hosted by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The show courts will, however, be pressed into action for the second time in three months in 2012 as Wimbledon will host the tennis events of the 2012 Olympic Games. One of the show courts is also used for home ties of the GB teams in the Davis Cup on occasions. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event played on grass courts. At one time, all the Grand Slam events, except the French Open, were played on grass. The US Open abandoned grass for a synthetic clay surface in 1975 and changed again to a hard surface (DecoTurf) with its 1978 move to the National Tennis Center. The Australian Open abandoned grass for Rebound Ace, a different type of hard surface, in 1988, and switched to yet another
type of hard surface, Plexicushion, in 2008. The principal court, Centre Court, was opened in 1922 when the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club moved from Worple Road to Church Road. The Church Road venue was larger and was needed to meet the ever-growing public demand. Due to the possibility of rain during Wimbledon, a retractable roof was installed prior to the 2009 Championship. The retractable roof is designed to close/open in about 10 minutes and will be closed primarily to protect play from inclement (and, if necessary, extremely hot) weather during The Championships. When the roof is being opened or closed, play is suspended. During a Wimbledon Championship match, the first time the roof was closed was on Monday 29 June 2009, involving Amélie Mauresmo and Dinara Safina. The court has a capacity of 15,000. At its south end is the Royal Box, from which members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries watch matches. Centre Court usually hosts the finals and semifinals of the main events, as well as many matches in the earlier rounds involving top-seeded players or local favourites. The second most important court is No. 1 Court. The court was constructed in 1997 to replace the old No. 1 Court, which was adjacent to Centre Court. The old No. 1 Court was demolished because its capacity for spectators was too low. The court was said to have had a unique, more intimate atmosphere and was a favourite of many players. The new No. 1 Court has a capacity of approximately 11,000. From 2009, a new No. 2 Court is being used at Wimbledon with a capacity for 4,000 people. To obtain planning