London - Tennis fans turning up on Monday for the best free show in the sport - the Wimbledon qualifying tournament - were in for a bit of a shock.
No money was required to get in but there were bag checks, and entry was only possible with the presentation of formal identification and the giving of your home address.
That was not the only change. At the end of each of the 16 courts was a closed-circuit television camera to monitor every match. The aim is to make proceedings as safe as what the hosting Roehampton sports ground is named after, the Bank of England.
More specifically, it is part of Wimbledon’s wider drive to try and insulate itself from the two scourges on the tennis agenda this year, the twin threats of match-fixing and doping.
Until now the qualifying has been one of the last vestiges of innocence at The Championships, removed from the gleaming corporate headquarters at Wimbledon and having the endearing feel of a county fair.
But these are changing times, an era when Wimbledon is also said to be embarking on a social media campaign in the US to get high-profile figures to tweet about the tournament.
A new vulnerability is being felt after match-fixing became a hot topic at the Australian Open, closely followed by Maria Sharapova’s admission of meldonium use in March.
Wimbledon has been swift to act in the protection of its brand. When play finally got under way on Monday afternoon, the proliferation of CCTV was the most obvious sign.
This was just part of an operation to scrutinise every match and ensure all will be cleaner than clean, despite the fact that there were no suspect betting alerts at Wimbledon last year.
The cameras are recording the match and expert analysts are being employed to detect anything untoward. They are also working off data provided electronically direct from the umpires’ chair, and the officials are also no longer above suspicion.
Increased vetting of anyone handed accreditation in any area is another tool being used. You can hardly be too careful these days, with the majority of unscrupulous behaviour found in the lower rungs of the game.
There is no suggestion that anything untoward was taking place on Monday, and in any case the burgeoning Grand Slam prize-money is a major disincentive to fix. Reaching the second qualifying round is worth £7 500, the third £15 000 and anyone making it into the main draw will get a minimum £30 000.
Wimbledon is also undertaking its own drug testing this year, an area which most sage observers would say is a much more present threat. This will be in addition to anything carried out by the sport’s regular anti-doping programme and government agencies.
The All England Club have refused to divulge how much they are spending on it or what form it will take. However, a spokesperson said: ‘We would not have made the announcement unless it was a significant investment.’
There will be extra blood and urine tests carried out by an independent agency during qualifying and the main event. Wimbledon’s policy has caused irritation as some feel the money would better serve the wider interests of the sport if it went into random out-of-competition testing, with offenders less likely to cheat at the biggest events.
But a spokesperson said: ‘As one of the key figures and events in the sport, the All England Club and The Championships has a desire and duty to play its part in safeguarding the integrity of the event and the sport as a whole.’
Daily Mail