Order of Play

A Speckled Sussex rooster with mahogany plumage flecked with white in a cream linen blazer, white shirt and green-and-purple striped tie, standing at the corner of the baseline on an immaculate grass tennis court, a wooden racquet in its press leaning against a slatted bench, dark green backstops, an ivy-covered brick wall and purple hydrangeas behind

Centre Court, Half Past One

The grass had been cut to eight millimetres, which he considered precisely sufficient. He arrived in cream — which is what white becomes on those who have been coming for years — and with the composure of someone who has never once been asked to play.

29 June 2026