Tennis court in Trafalgar Square

The organisers of the event, A.J. Leisure, brought together a team of specialist companies to create a temporary a grass court in one of the world's most famous locations, Trafalgar Square. Sponsored by Ariel Washing Powder and the Lawn Tennis Association, Becker and Henman provided entertainment for the crowd as they played a game of mixed doubles on the temporary court with Footballer's Wives stars Zoe Lucker and Laila Rouass.

Instant tennis court in Trafalgar sqaure

The Lindum Grassfelt a fibre reinforced turf grown with a hardwearing tennis mixture which had been previously mown and top dressed to provide a good ball bounce, was lifted the previous evening and arrived onsite in London at midnight the night before. With just eight hours to go, GreenTech and Draincore prepared the drainage system and the laying team from Talbot Landscapes began the long and delicate job of laying the turf with their specialist Turfporter machine.

The final preparations including the grooming, mowing and linemarking were completed and finally the netting was set up - just in time for the stars, and the crowds, to appear.

Tennis

Featured on many news and sports channels that day, the temporary grass court proved a real hit. Lindum Managing Director, Stephen Fell, said: "This was a great example of how, by using innovative products such as Lindum Grassfelt, a temporary, high quality, real grass surface can be laid for any event and in any place."

At the end of the day's event, the grass tennis court disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and Trafalgar Square was once again returned to its more usual stone-coloured complexion.