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Henman Hill

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Coordinates: 51°26′08″N 0°12′58″W / 51.435564°N 0.215982°W / 51.435564; -0.215982
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Aorangi Terrace", side view
"Aorangi Terrace", front view
"Aorangi Terrace", 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 championships, crowds of people without show court tickets can watch the tennis matches live on a giant television screen at the side of No. 1 Court.

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 is also the main site for spectators to eat picnics.[2]

Aorangi 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.[1][3] The hill is frequently given other alliterative nicknames relating to British players competing at Wimbledon (Rusedski Ridge, Murray Mound,[1]' Heather Hill, Robson Green,[4] Konta Contour, Raducanu Rise,[5] Raducanu Ridge,[6] Norrie Knoll[7] etc.) but Henman Hill has remained the most commonly used phrase.[8][9]

History

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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 No. 1 Court in 1997.[10] This coincided with the popularity of British player Tim Henman, and the site soon gained the nickname "Henman Hill",[3] becoming a focal point for so-called Henmania. There is a "Henmans Hill" in Clifton, Bristol, England and anecdotally a supporter attending Wimbledon at the time was from that area and gave the hill that name, it being very similar to "Henman". 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.[11]

Since Henman's retirement in 2007,[12] 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,[13] Mount Murray,[14] Murray Mountain[15] and Murrayfield (in reference to the stadium in Edinburgh of the same name)[16] all used.

As of 2021, the name "Henman Hill" is still used by the BBC and other media in reference to the area.[17] 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 at Wimbledon. During Greg Rusedski's matches, the area was sometimes called Rusedski Ridge;[18] Robson Ridge[19] or Robson Green[20][21] have been used in reference to Laura Robson; plus Heather Hill[22] and Konta Kop[23] in reference to Heather Watson and Johanna Konta.

Most recently, the success of Emma Raducanu in the 2021 US Open led to speculation over the name Raducanu Ridge being used at Wimbledon 2022, in line with Rusedski Ridge and Robson Ridge. Other potential names for the site were suggested by the BBC, with Raducanu Rise[5] coming out as the public's favourite.

For the 2022 Wimbledon tournament, Henman Hill was re-created by the AELTC in New York City, from 8 to 10 July. Dubbed the "Hill in New York", it was set up in Brooklyn Bridge Park at Pier 6, which also offered panoramic views of Lower Manhattan. Tickets were available on a walk-in basis up to a limit of 1,000 people per day.[24][25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Hill / Large Screen". Wimbledon. Retrieved 17 June 2021. More formally known as Aorangi Terrace, the Hill is situated to the north of No.1 Court, and has become a popular area for Grounds Pass Ticket Holders to watch the action on the Show Courts. During the 1990s, it was widely known as 'Henman Hill', as British fans gathered to watch the British No.1 compete in four Wimbledon Semi-finals. It has since also been dubbed 'Murray Mound', reflecting the support for Andy Murray at Wimbledon.
  2. ^ "Wimbledon 2006 guide". Bbc.co.uk. 19 June 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Henman - Henmania hits Britain". BBC Sport. 22 September 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  4. ^ Coates, Jon (30 June 2013). "Laura gives Murray Mound a new name: Robson Green". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Emma Raducanu: What should we call the hill at Wimbledon? - CBBC Newsround". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Raducanu Ridge? How Wimbledon's fans on the hill fell for a new star". The Guardian. 3 July 2021.
  7. ^ Majendie, Matt (4 July 2022). "Norrie calls on public to get behind him as last Brit at Wimbledon". Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  8. ^ McAlpine, Fraser. "Why Wimbledon's Henman Hill Will Never Become Murray Mound". BBC America. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  9. ^ Walker, Peter. "Crowds gather on Wimbledon's Murray Mount – or is it still Henman Hill?". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  10. ^ Gorringe, Chris (2009). Holding Court. London: Random House. ISBN 978-0-09-952599-8.
  11. ^ Perry, Alex (5 July 2002). "Happy on Henman hill". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  12. ^ Cheese, Caroline (21 September 2007). "Happy Henman's fitting finale?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  13. ^ 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...
  14. ^ Ellen, Barbara (29 June 2008). "We cuddle up to Nelson, but fight shy of ending discrimination". The Observer. London. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Martyn McLaughlin (27 June 2008). "True Brit... it's game, set and match again as crowd howls for the underdog". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  17. ^ Majendie, Matt (16 June 2021). "Henman Hill open to spectators at this year's Wimbledon". Evening Standard. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  18. ^ 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...
  19. ^ Esther Addley (1 July 2013). "Laura Robson must wait for her chance to rename Murray's Mound". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  20. ^ "Laura Robson is built to succeed". Express.co.uk. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  21. ^ Pitcher, Tom (23 June 2009). "Murray Mound replaces Robson Green at Wimbledon". Left field: The Reuters global sports blog. Reuters. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  22. ^ "Wimbledon 2012: day five as it happened". BBC Sport. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  23. ^ "Konta fans fume as Wimbledon switches big screen match to Murray". The Guardian. 10 July 2017.
  24. ^ "Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats… For three days only, Wimbledon's iconic fan destination, the Hill, is coming to New York City, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 6". Wimbledon.com. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  25. ^ "Wimbledon's Henman Hill coming to Brooklyn waterfront". Tennis.com. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
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51°26′08″N 0°12′58″W / 51.435564°N 0.215982°W / 51.435564; -0.215982

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