Wimbledon’s bold expansion plans have been approved by Merton Council following a lengthy planning committee meeting which concluded just after midnight.
A 524-page document had already been published by the council which concluded planning permission should be granted, subject to conditions, because of the substantial public benefits of the proposal outweighing harm to the significance of heritage assets.
The All England Club bought the lease of the neighbouring Wimbledon Park Golf Club for a reported £65million in 2018.
Across the site – which also includes Wimbledon Park Lake and a section of Church Road – the AELTC was seeking the go-ahead to build 38 new courts, including a third show court with a capacity of 8,000 seats and retractable roof, as well as designated north and south player hubs while also providing publicly-accessible parkland.
Under the proposals, originally submitted in 2021, the grounds will almost triple in size and allow Wimbledon to host the qualifying tournaments in SW19, rather than their current home a couple of miles away in Roehampton.
Completion is projected for 2030, which will see an increase in the capacity of the championships from 42,000 to 50,000 and also deliver “benefits relating to heritage open space, recreation and community”.
The ambitious scheme, though, has not gone down well with some local residents.
Around 2,000 trees are expected to be removed across some 75 acres of Metropolitan Open Land, which is intended to be protected as an area of landscape, recreation, nature conservation or scientific interest.
A petition to ‘Save Wimbledon Park’ showed more than 13,000 signatures, and there were protests from opposition groups outside the Development and Planning Applications Committee meeting at Merton Civic Centre.
Chaired by Labour and Co-operative Party counsellor Aidan Mundy, the committee heard a number of arguments on both sides – including from the All England Club, local residents, council officers and Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond – which took in environmental, social and economic considerations during a lengthy meeting which lasted for almost five hours.
A final vote eventually came at just after midnight, which saw the recommendation for planning permission to be granted passed by six votes to four.
Following the announcement, someone shouted a protest, apparently from the public seats, with counsellor Mundy asking the person to leave the room and calling for security before the meeting was adjourned.
The proposals will now move on to the next stage of the planning process, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan required to formally accept or reject the decision due to the development taking place on Metropolitan Open Land.
As the northernmost part of Wimbledon Park is within the borough of Wandsworth, the scheme must also be approved by its planning committee.
There is also the possibility of judicial review as a potential obstacle for the development proceeding.
Local residents who oppose the decision could attempt to challenge the lawfulness of the way it was made, on the grounds of illegality, procedural unfairness or irrationality.
A spokesperson for the London Borough of Merton said: “After considering the officer’s report, relevant submissions, and the relevant planning framework, the independent planning committee, made up of councillors from all parties, voted to approve the application made by the All England Lawn Tennis Ground (AELTG) for expansion of its site at Wimbledon.
“There are further stages in the planning process and the land remains subject to covenants contained in the transfer of 1993 from the Council to AELTG.
“Until these covenants are properly addressed by AELTG they operate to restrict the use and development of the land as proposed in the planning application.”
News of the vote was met with disappointment by the Wimbledon Park Residents’ Association (WPRA).
“We are not at all surprised by the outcome of the vote. Most of the inconsistencies in the report were glossed over,” WPRA chair Iain Simpson said.
“Merton did not even bring their own experts into the hearing, and instead relied on the applicant to advise the councillors who were asking the questions. In addition their pronouncements on the environment still ignored their own expert advice where it didn’t suit them.
“On all that was said about the stadium and the buildings, these are still in outline – and outline designs on protected land contravene their own planning regulations. They therefore cannot be discussed in any meaningful way.
“This is just a stage in what will be a long process for which Save Wimbledon Park is well prepared.”
WTA Finals: Sabalenka digs deep to reach semi-finals
Aryna Sabalenka became the first player to book her place in the WTA Finals semi-finals after her straight-sets win over Jasmine Paolini on Monday.
The Belarusian had to dig deep in the second set but prevailed in 91 minutes, beating the Italian 6-3 7-5 in Riyadh to secure top spot in the Purple Group after two games.
While Sabalenka cruised through the first set, she was almost forced to a decider, but saved two set points in the 10th game of the second to level the score at 5-5 before going on to claim the victory.
In doing so, she became the first player to reach back-to-back semi-finals at the tournament as world number one since Serena Williams in 2013-14.
Having won three of her previous four tournaments and won 22 of her 23 matches in that time, Sabalenka is now just one win away from securing the year-end world number one spot for the first time, a feat she can achieve if she beats Elena Rybakina on Wednesday in the final round-robin match.
And she can go into it with confidence after improving her record against top-five opponents in 2024, with this her fifth such triumph.
"I'm proud of myself. Not only myself, my team," Sabalenka said.
"We were able to overcome a lot of things. To be able to show such great tennis and become World No. 1. It's teamwork. It's not only me. The behind-the-scenes work nobody sees.
"But they do a lot for me. I really appreciate them for everything they do for me. This is motivation for me to keep winning on this court. Those guys deserve to be called the best team ever."
In Monday's other match, Zheng Qinwen kept her hopes of reaching the final four alive with her win over Rybakina.
The Olympic champion was forced to go the distance though, despite getting the first break in the first and second sets, but eventually came out on top 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-1 in just under two-and-a-half hours.
Since the event's inauguration in 1972, Zheng is just the second Chinese player to win a match at the WTA Finals after Li Na.
It was a milestone victory for the 22-year-old as well as she earned her 50th win of 2024, improving her record to 50-17, making her the first Chinese player in the Open Era to hit that mark in a calendar year, though she acknowledged she could have made things easier for herself.
"I was the one to make the first break, and then I let her back in the first," Zheng said.
"Then it happened again in the second. But in the third set, I talked to myself. I broke her first and I stayed focused.
"Finally, in the third set, I start to play my tennis again. So, I'm really happy to win the match."
WTA Finals: Swiatek battles from the brink to make winning start
Iga Swiatek began her bid to regain the world number one ranking by recovering from a set and double break down to beat Barbora Krejcikova in her first match at the WTA Finals.
Swiatek, playing in her first competitive game since her US Open quarter-final exit, emerged a 4-6 7-5 6-2 victor against the Wimbledon champion in Riyadh.
The Pole is the third player in the last 30 years to achieve three or more seasons in a row with over 60 wins, after Martina Hingis (1997-2001) and Caroline Wozniacki (2009-2011).
Only Elina Svitolina (12) has played fewer matches at the WTA Finals than Swiatek (13) to achieve 10 wins at this event since the reintroduction of the Round Robin format in 2003.
But the Pole acknowledged the difficulties she faced against Krejcikova, saying she must improve if she is to retain her WTA Finals crown.
“Even though I played a lot of those [practice] matches,” Swiatek said afterward. “I kind of forgot for a while how it is to feel all those things, a bit different stress and emotions.
"For sure, I needed some time to adapt. The most important thing was that even though it happened, I managed to fight through that. And was patient enough to wait to get better.”
In Sunday's other match, Coco Gauff beat fellow American and doubles partner Jessica Pegula 6-3 6-2 in the second Orange Group match.
Gauff moved to a win-loss record of 51-16 in 2024, including the Olympics and team events, equalling her career-high from 2023 for WTA-level match wins in a calendar year.
She is now only the fifth player to claim 20 or more WTA top 10 wins before turning 21, along with Kim Clijsters (45), Maria Sharapova (39), Ana Ivanovic (26) and Wozniacki (23) since 2000.
"I think maybe I served better than previous times and this is our first time, I think, playing each other on indoor hard, so maybe that had something to do with it," Gauff said.
"I don't know. I think I know I've lost to her a lot, but it doesn't feel like it sometimes.
"Because we do practice a lot, and obviously, when we're playing sometimes I win practice sets, sometimes she does. So it doesn't feel like the head to head is as bad as it was."
Zverev soars past Humbert to claim Paris Masters crown
Alexander Zverev soared to the Paris Masters title following a commanding 6-2 6-2 victory over home favourite Ugo Humbert in the final.
The German took just 75 minutes to seal his seventh career ATP Masters triumph, and second silverware of the season.
Humbert received a raucous reception as he aimed to become the first Frenchman to win this event since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008.
However, the crowd were silenced when Zverev broke in the third and fifth games on his way to taking the opening set.
The Italian Open champion also dominated the second set, dropping just five points on serve as he wrapped up a comfortable victory.
"I knew I had to play like this to win today," Zverev said. "Ugo is an incredible player, but here in Paris, he plays even better than he usually does, and I knew that.
"Once the crowd gets involved, it's going to be difficult. So, I had to take that away early, and I did, so I'm happy about that."
Zverev was also delighted to triumph in Paris, and demonstrate the strides he has made since suffering a horrifying ankle injury during his 2022 French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal.
"It was not 100% guaranteed that I would be back at this level," he added. "So, to win this title here in Paris means the world to me, and I'm sure it means everything to those in my box, because they have done so much for me."
Data Debrief: Zverev surpasses Medvedev and matches Sinner
Runner-up to Daniil Medvedev in 2020, Zverev went one better at the Accor Arena four years later, and will be seeded second at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.
The second German to win this event after Boris Becker, he surpassed Medvedev (six) with his seventh ATP Masters crown the outright most of any player born since the format's inception in 1990.
Zverev also matched world number one Jannik Sinner for the joint-most match wins in ATP Masters events this season with 28.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
