Welcome to the Last Eight Club

MAYBE it should be called the Quarters Club, because the Last Eight Club in SW19 is a little known corner of Wimbledon where those who have made it to the quarter-finals at a Wimbledon championship can gather once the dust has settled.

To get membership of this club, situated in a building that was once the All England boardroom, a player needs to have reached the singles quarter-finals or the doubles semi-finals or the mixed doubles final.

And at 6pm every day during Wimbledon fortnight members gather for Happy Hour to reminisce.

American Christopher Eubanks became the latest member last week.

There are currently 603 eligible members – although it is not known how many actually do turn up.

The club has a daily ticket allocation to the main courts, although a ballot runs for the big matches.

Feaver reached the fourth round at Wimbledon as a singles player win 1973, and reached 10 doubles finals around the world in a career that saw him hold the record for serving the most aces in a single Wimbledon match – 42 – against Australian John Newcombe.

And he played Wimbledon for 13 consecutive years.

Another Aussie, 90 year-old Australian Neale Fraser, was the oldest visitor in 2023.

When he won Wimbledon in 1960 he received a £15 voucher to be spent at a London sports store for his efforts.

How times have changed.

WIMBLEDON broadcaster the BBC was widely criticised after the ladies final yesterday for what fans claimed was a bias towards Ons Jabeur.

“How biased to Jabeur is this BBC commentary,” one fan tweeted, and another said: “Once again the BBC are fawning over Jabeur, with virtually no mention of her opponent.”

“The BBC going out of their way to point out all of the bad times Ons has been through this year! Classic BBC Sport, always having a clear favourite,” another wrote.

“Jabeur… the BBC [are] making out she is the only player at the tournament and she deserves to win. They are being disrespectful to the other finalist Marketa Vondrousova, so I will be supporting her to win,” another fan tweeted.

STICKING with the match summary theme … AI commentary at Wimbledon has been roundly condemned by fans and former players.

British player and tennis pundit Annabelle Croft called it ‘an insult’ last week.

Other words she used include ‘stiff and emotionless’.

As we revealed a few weeks back, Wimbledon has trialling AI commentary on its website and app.

Croft didn’t end there. “It’s a race against the robot for your job,’ she said on BBC radio.

“Listening to that, it was very stiff, it was emotionless, no feelings at all. Whoever is taking the decision to put a robot on to commentary and, of course, into the wider context of all jobs in life: this is going to kill humanity.

“I feel like we all need to throw our phones in the river and stop our brains being overtaken by AI.”

She added: “I really hope somebody can stop it.’

So do we.

IT was tough day at the office for Ons Jabeur, suffering another final defeat, this time at the hands of a clinical Vondrousova.

“It will try to speak because this is very tough,” she said on court and in tears after the match.

“I am going to look ugly in the photos so that’s not going to help.

“I think this is the most painful loss of my career.

It’s going to be a tough day for me today but I am not going to give up. I am going to come back stronger and win a Grand Slam one day.”

AS for Vondrousova, well she becomes Wimbledon’s first non-seeded champion.

The 24-year-old is the lowest-ranked woman to win after her 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ons Jabeur.

A big difference from a year ago when she was just a visitor – her left wrist in a cast after injury.

“When we came, I was just like, ‘Try to win a couple of matches.’ Now this happened. It’s crazy,” she said after her win.

Maybe Centre Court’s retractable roof, closed for the final, because of wind and possible rain, helped her?

“I always play good indoors,” Vondrousova said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, maybe that’s going to help me.’”

HE may not be at Wimbledon but Rafa Nadal has been kept busy filming a TV commercial for fast food giants Subway with basketball star Stephen Curry.

“This slice is as good as your tennis slice?” Curry asks in the commercial, as Nadal walks up to the basketball star.

“I can’t say that but yes,” Nadal responds.

Nadal posted a clip of the commercial on his Instagram account, with a humorous comment.

“I can’t believe I admitted that… Swipe for the slices in question,” he wrote.

SHE may be the world No.1, but Iga Swiatek isn’t the best on grass, going out in the quarters to Elina Svitolina.

No disgrace there, as Svitolina has been 9in sparking form this year, but Swiatek admitted this week she had at last found some joy playing on grass.

“I put in a lot of work, learnt a lot and what’s better: I found some joy in playing on grass,” she said.

“We know what to improve, what to work on and focus on and that’s the most important part of this experience for me this year.”

The Pole then told the world through her IG account she was taking time out from tennis for a ‘little trip’.

Swiatek is expected to return to action next month, when the North American hard court swing kicks in.

WHAT a catch… a fan on Court No.1 was enjoying his temps with a Pimms when a wayward return from Jiri Lehecka landed in his glass!

Amusing? Yep. But not perhaps so when a replacement drink was going to cost him £9.70.

THERE was a giant pink dodo outside gate four at Wimbledon last week, another ‘eco-warrior’ protest – this time over Barclays Bank sponsoring the event.

Members of Money Rebellion, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, held signs bearing the slogan ‘Shame Set and Match’, claiming the bank has invested billions into fossil fuels.

The irony of this protest is the dodo was manufactured from oil derivatives. As was the plastic protest sign.

IT’S not over for Venus Williams – yet.

The former World No.1 has been given a wildcard to play at the 2023 Canadian Open in Montreal in August.

Coming off a first wound Wimbledon loss to Elina Svitolina, Williams will be returning to Montreal for the first time since 2018.

“@Venuseswilliams earns a bye for the #OBN23 , marking her highly anticipated return to Montreal since 2018. The seven-time Grand Slam champion is ready to wow the crowd once again,” tweeted the official account of the Canadian Open.

“I am walking around doing my thing but most of the time have been off my feet but I’m working on getting back on tour,” Williams said on Friday.

NAOMI Osaka became the latest to join the Mum’s Club last week after giving birth to a baby girl.

The news was disclosed by boyfriend and rapper Cordae during one of his live shows, telling the audience his daughter has been named Shai.

But the hypocrisy continues as Osaka, always claiming privacy and her mental health, sold the story for a lot of money to People magazine, complete with sponsorship from an interior design company.

Osaka will most likely make a comeback in 2024 in Australia – but as we all know with Naomi – that could change.

WILL Novak Djokovic’s white tennis shoes with the green “23” printed on the heel have to be replaced soon?

The seven-time Wimbledon champion has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, and he could add to that total today as faces young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.

HE may not be playing, but the polarising effect of Aussie brat Nick Kyrgios emerged again last week.

This time using his girlfriend Costeen Hatzi to defend his desire to take the money on offer from Saudi Arabia.

After buying up several other sports in what has even described as the worst kind of sports washing, tennis is next on the menu.

While ATP Tour chair Andrea Gaudenzi has held talks with the Saudi’s about the possibility of the ATP Finals being moved there, the move has drawn criticism from fans all over the world – as Saudi Arabia has one of the worst human rights records on the planet.

Russian Daria Kasatkina who is gay, has criticised the move.

‘Many issues concerning this country. It’s easier for men bc they feel pretty good there. We don’t feel the same way. As Nick Kyrgios said, he’d be so happy to go there for a big check. For me, money is not #1 priority…’ she posted on social media.

To which Kyrgios then replied: “My girlfriend felt fine there.”

The childish comment, disregarding the fact that Kasatkina is gay, was condemned by many.

‘C’mon, Nick. Don’t be stubborn. You know what’s going on there,’ one replied.

‘So that means all women will [be safe]? Bit of a reach here,’ posted another, with others stating the safety of women in Saudi as a major cause for concern.

AND finally… another whacky Wimbledon story to end our weekly look at the world of tennis.

From the London Sun newspaper a report that despite spending millions on weather radar equipment — SW19s most valuable bit of kit is a £5 water tray guarded by a duck called, wait for it … John QuackEnroe.

A tub filled with water on top of an on-site building, completed with its own rubber duck, is used to see if rain is falling.