Around Wimbledon's grounds: Crowd energy, homage to Japan and more

WIMBLEDON -- When British No. 1 Emma Raducanu withdrew from Wimbledon Sunday evening, organizers moved Jelena Ostapenko and British wild card Harriet Dart onto No. 1 Court for their first-round match. The move gave British fans another local player on the second-largest show court as an alternative. 

Ostapenko lived up to the task, defeating Dart 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, and after the victory, the Latvian -- who can be one of the most vocal during her matches -- discussed how she had something to prove in terms of winning over the home crowd for their support.

"When I play somebody local or that the crowd is supporting, I feel like I'm angry inside but in a good way and I just want to prove you guys wrong, that you are not supporting the right person," Ostapenko said. "In this case because she's from here this is a very good crowd for her, but I feel to prove that you guys should support me in the next match."

Ostapenko's match was originally scheduled for Court 17, which seats just 276 people, and is 44-times less the size of the 12,345 seat No. 1 Court. She found out about the switch yesterday evening, half past 10 p.m., shortly after Raducanu announced her withdrawal.

The Grand Slam champion isn't unfamiliar with rowdy environments, having played Frenchwoman Alize Cornet on Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland Garros in 2022 and Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in 2023 at Miami, where many Brazilians reside.

"I think those ones are a bit more intense," Ostapenko said on those matches. 

"I know it's a local player, and this is very normal, they are supporting the local player" Ostapenko added, smiling. "I think I kind of proved them they are wrong and they should support another [player], like me, and I just try to prove it with the game.

"But in a good way, as I said, it's very normal they are supporting the local player. Just in a good way. I try to prove, 'You guys are around next match, you should support me [laughing].'"

A Wimbledon, World Cup collision

The summertime is one of the best parts of this year for global sports fans. There's a variety of WTA events, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon is simultaneously taking place with the World Cup this year. 

With the football tournament entering it's knockout round, several WTA players, who are avid football fans, are making sure they are staying up-to-date on the tournament across the pond. 

"I still got two teams in it," said Canada's Leylah Fernandez, who has Ecuadorian roots through her father. "I'm absolutely loving the World Cup at the moment with trying to watch as many games as possible. Of course, it's a little hard, with the time difference and I tend to go to sleep a little early.

"Ecuador pulled off the miracle against Germany, so hopefully they can continue with a good momentum moving forward."

Croatia's Donna Vekic's 30th birthday was Sunday, but she celebrated with company on Saturday evening. There was no question what would be on the televisions at 10 p.m. local time that night. 

"Oh, yeah, it was pretty clear to everyone that at 10, we were watching the football," Vekic said Sunday after her country's 2-1 final group-stage win over Ghana. "[The guests] don't have to leave, but the football's gonna be on at 10. It was nice. Some people people stayed. Some have matches on Monday, so they had to leave."

Many players represent nations that are also competing in the World Cup, but when adding their primary coaches, fitness coaches and more, there's more fandom added to the mix. 

Take Iva Jovic for example. Her coach, Thomas Gutteridge, is from England, and her fitness coach is from Germany. Her hitting partner is from Brazil. Those three nations, and Jovic's, the United States, all reached the knockout round of the tournament, and Brazil defeated Japan Monday for a spot in the Round of 16.

"I've been watching very closely, actually," Jovic said after her first-round win Monday." It's been it's been very entertaining for me to see it all unfold. I've been hearing all about it. I don't know if you guys heard about the Ghanaian witch that cursed [English footballer Harry Kane].

"I don't know, but I'm a believer, I believe this, so I've been watching that, and I just love the Europeans discovering America, Taco Bell and ranch [dressing]. I've been following a lot."

An homage to Japan and Kill Bill

When Naomi Osaka stepped onto No. 3 Court, it was almost expect she'd showcase another grand entry with a customized, well-thought-out outfit -- just as she did in Melbourne, Paris and now London. 

Monday, her all-white Kimono was an homage to her Japanese roots, a reflection of Wimbledon's all-white attire and her fandom of Lucy Liu's character in 'Kill Bill'.  

"When someone talks about Wimbledon or when I think about Wimbledon, it's like obviously the all white," Osaka said to press after her straight-sets win over Elsa Jacquemot. "If I dive deeper into like Japanese culture, I think about the most iconic silhouette, which for me is a kimono. You don't have to see the color of a kimono to know that it is a kimono.

"I love Kill Bill. I remembered absolutely falling in love with Lucy Liu's character. She has an all-white kimono, and I remember thinking that was really cool and amazing. Then it just kind of went from there. It was like my interpretation of that while also paying a lot of respect and love to Japan.

During her media day availability Sunday, Osaka said she doesn't find Wimbledon's dress code to be a restriction, but rather an opportunity to be more creative in the design. 

"There's so many different patterns, fabrics, textures that you can use," Osaka said. "I've never really thought of it [as] something that hinders me."

Osaka even caught the attention of several spectators during her walk to No. 3 Court. 

"I thought that was really fun just because I didn't think anyone expected that," Osaka said. "I try to lock in a little bit and wear my headphones. When I walked by someone, they would physically turn their whole body. I thought that was really fun.

"It was cool because I heard some people say, 'Wow, that's a really beautiful kimono and stuff like that.'"