When a Grass Court is No Longer a Grass Court

As grass turns to dirt by the second week of Wimbledon, clay-loving players like Iga Swiatek can thrive.

WIMBLEDON, England — You may have poetically heard the grass courts at Wimbledon referred to as a “living” surface, which is technically correct since grass is a living organism.

But across the two-week duration of Wimbledon, it’s probably more accurate to call the grass a “dying” surface—admittedly a description less suited for the pleasant summer garden atmosphere the All-England Club wants to cultivate.