Leading British tennis player Helen Crook has given a cautious welcome to plans to cover Wimbledon's Centre Court.

All England Tennis Club chiefs announced their intention to build a retractable roof over the world-famous arena yesterday.

The canvas canopy forms part of a multi-million pound redevelopment of the Grand Slam venue set for completion in 2009.

"I think it's definitely a good thing to have the facility to play on a court when it's raining," said 32-year-old Crook, who lives in Basildon.

"But I hope that it does not affect the schedule much, in that they are only going to play singles matches on there, for instance.

"We have to be careful that it doesn't mean all the big names are on Centre Court, as the great thing about Wimbledon is that you can see players in the top ten on the outside courts."

Published Wednesday January 7, 2004

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