Mladenovic Blames ‘Damaged’ Court to Wimbledon Ouster

France’s 12th seed Kristina Mladenovic complained about a “damaged” court at Wimbledon, claiming poor surfaces are the talk of the players’ locker room.

The 24-year-old twisted an ankle in the warm-up and damaged a knee during her second-round defeat by American Alison Riske on Court 18.

Mladenovic said both players wanted to stop after only two games “in case something bad happened”.

The All England Club said the courts were as “playable as per normal”.

Temperatures have reached 30C at Wimbledon, with around 60 people treated by the St John Ambulance for heat-related symptoms on Thursday.

The Met Office is predicting highs of 26C on Friday and 23C on Saturday, but with more cloud cover on both days.

Mladenovic blamed the weather for making the courts too dry.

She said: “The colour of the court, the fact that there’s no more grass, the fact that the baseline where we are running, it’s very slippery. There’s no grass.

“You kind of have to run light and be careful, not to push or press too much, too hard, which is strange to play on.”

Mladenovic, who lost 2-6 6-4 6-4, added: “It’s quite unique with your opponent, after two games, you both agree on stopping playing in a Slam.

“I’m just honestly very happy and blessed that I didn’t injure myself that much.”

An All England Club statement read: “The court preparation has been to exactly the same meticulous standard as in previous years.

“Grass is a natural surface and it is usual for the baselines to start to be showing signs of wear and tear four days into the Championships.”