All England Club consider change of Wimbledon dates

Wimbledon could be moved back a week to allow players more time to recover from the French Open

Wimbledon could be moved back a week in future to give players extra time to recover after the French Open.

Play at Wimbledon currently starts two weeks after the final at Roland Garros.

All England Lawn Tennis Club chief executive Richard Lewis told BBC Radio 5 live Breakfast: "We are seriously considering it.

"It's often been discussed and it would be ideal to have a longer break. It would be three weeks, ideally, between the French Open and Wimbledon."

AELTC chief executive Richard Lewis is considering the change of dates for Wimbledon

He added: "We believe there are really, really good tennis reasons for having a longer break.

"We think that more time on the softer surface of grass is something that the players will definitely welcome.

"And they will welcome the rest and recuperation they can get between playing an intense tournament at Roland Garros and coming to Wimbledon. Three weeks gives them much better preparation time."

World number one and defending Wimbledon men's singles champion Novak Djokovic supports the plan.

Djokovic, beaten in the French Open final by Rafael Nadal a fortnight ago, said: "We need an extra week. It would work in the favour of players because it would give the top ones a little bit more time to get used to the surface.

"Logically speaking, it is the slowest surface that we're talking about, clay, moving to the fastest one, which takes time."