Henman Hill

"Henman Hill", side view
"Henman Hill", front view
"Henman Hill", rear view

Aorangi Terrace, commonly known as "Henman Hill", alongside a series of other nicknames,[1] is a mostly grassed banked area in the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club where, during the annual Wimbledon tennis championship, crowds of people without showcourt tickets can watch the tennis matches live on a giant television screen at the side of No. 1 Court. The terrace is also the main site for spectators to eat picnics.[1] During television broadcasts of matches, cameras often sweep over the area, and sports journalists frequently conduct vox pops and interviews with members of the crowd.

The terrace's nickname of Henman Hill emerged in the late 1990s when British supporters would congregate to watch the matches of Tim Henman at the site.[2] Aorangi Terrace is frequently given other alliterative nicknames relating to British players competing at Wimbledon (Murray Mound, Heather Hill, Robson Ridge etc.), but Henman Hill has remained the most commonly used phrase.[3][4][5]

History

The terrace is named after Aorangi Park, the London New Zealand Rugby Club's grounds, which were on the site until 1981. Aorangi refers to the 'canonical' Māori description of Aoraki, the highest mountain in New Zealand, also known as Mount Cook. A new big screen was installed on the site following the construction of the new Court No1 in 1997.[6] This coincided with the popularity of British player Tim Henman, and the site soon gained the nickname "Henman Hill",[2] becoming a focal point for so-called Henmania. British tennis followers would fanatically support four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Henman as he played often dramatic matches in his many attempts to win the title.[7]

Since Henman's retirement in 2007,[8] the area has been colloquially named after other British tennis players. Most frequently, the site has been associated with Andy Murray, with names such as Murray Mound,[9] Mount Murray,[10] Murray Mountain[11] and Murrayfield (in reference to the stadium in Edinburgh of the same name)[12] all used. The name "Henman Hill" is still used by the BBC and other media in reference to the area.[13] In 2009, Tim Henman stated on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross that he had agreed with Andy Murray it is still "Henman Hill". Henman joked that "[Murray] can have all those grand slams he's going to win but I'm keeping my hill."

Tennis pundits and tabloids have occasionally referred to the hill according to the names of a series of other British players who have participated in Wimbledon. During Greg Rusedski matches, the area was sometimes called Rusedski Ridge;[14] Robson Ridge[15][16] or Robson Green[17][18] (a play on the name of a British actor[16]) have been used in reference to Laura Robson; and Heather Hill[19] in reference to British player Heather Watson.

References

  1. 1 2 "Wimbledon 2006 guide". BBC Sport (bbc.co.uk). 19 June 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  2. 1 2 "Henman - Henmania hits Britain". BBC Sport (bbc.co.uk). 22 September 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  3. ↑ McAlpine, Fraser. "Why Wimbledon’s Henman Hill Will Never Become Murray Mound". BBC America. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Where to Watch Wimbledon 2014 in London". Hostelbookers. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  5. ↑ Walker, Peter. "Crowds gather on Wimbledon's Murray Mount – or is it still Henman Hill?". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Gorringe, Chris (2009). Holding Court. London: Random House. ISBN 978-0-09-952599-8.
  7. ↑ Perry, Alex (5 July 2002). "Happy on Henman hill". BBC Sport (bbc.co.uk). Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  8. ↑ Cheese, Caroline (21 September 2007). "Happy Henman's fitting finale?". BBC Sport (bbc.co.uk). Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  9. ↑ Davies, Caroline (22 June 2010). "Wimbledon 2010: Andy Murray is lone survivor in Britain's worst year ever". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 24 June 2010. But if the mania on the steep grass verge now informally called "Murray mound" was muted, it was not only down to nerves...
  10. ↑ Ellen, Barbara (29 June 2008). "We cuddle up to Nelson, but fight shy of ending discrimination". The Observer (London: guardian.co.uk). Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  11. ↑ Rajan, Amol (23 June 2009). "Fans on Murray Mountain are older and wiser – but their hopes are high". The Independent (London). Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  12. ↑ Martyn McLaughlin (27 June 2008). "True Brit... it's game, set and match again as crowd howls for the underdog". The Scotsman (Edinburgh: scotsman.com). Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  13. ↑ Holt, Sarah (24 June 2008). "Cool on Britannia". BBC Sport (bbc.co.uk). Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  14. ↑ Tongue, Steve (3 July 2002). "Rusedski falters at crucial point to fall to Malisse". The Independent (London). Retrieved 24 June 2010. So "Rusedski Ridge" is no more and will become "Henman Hill" again...
  15. ↑ Esther Addley (1 July 2013). "Laura Robson must wait for her chance to rename Murray's Mound". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  16. 1 2 Gallagher, Ian; Ellery, Ben (29 June 2013). "Oh Laura, what a smasher! A fiery fightback, a fist-bump from her brother and fabulous Laura Robson powers through to the last 16". London: Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  17. ↑ "Laura Robson is built to succeed". Express.co.uk. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  18. ↑ Pitcher, Tom (23 June 2009). "Murray Mound replaces Robson Green at Wimbledon". Left field: The Reuters global sports blog (Reuters). Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "Wimbledon 2012: day five as it happened". BBC Sport. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2013.

External links

Coordinates: 51°26′08″N 0°12′58″W / 51.435564°N 0.215982°W / 51.435564; -0.215982

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