Is Wimbledon falling apart?

Tim hears Sir Arthur's arguments

The All England Club's announcement that players will no longer be expected to bow or curtsey to the royal box at Wimbledon has shaken the world of sport to its very core.

Is this a long overdue change that finally brings the tournament into the 21st century - or is it the beginning of the end for Wimbledon?

We asked two outspoken campaigners from opposite ends of the debate to explain their points of view.

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Sir Arthur Spatchcock
(retired, Wiltshire)

Here at Spatchcock Hall, the All England club's decision has gone down very badly indeed.

So shocked was Lady Spatchcock that she found herself quite unable to finish her usual 9am platter of kedgeree - and believe you me, when a trooper with an appetite like my lady wife refuses a cooked breakfast, things have reached a frighteningly serious stage.

For once I am with the old battle-axe all the way.

Generations of Spatchcocks have taken enormous pleasure in sitting in the royal box while unwashed Yanks and hairy Germans were forced to bow and scrape before us.

No matter that the vast majority of the time I was actually in the hospitality tent enjoying a glass of the fizzy stuff with my good chum Binky Pootwister when the actual kow-towing took place.

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The idea that those boys were grovelling in front of nothing more than my discarded cravat always tinkled me pink.

And don't tell me that the foreign johnnies didn't love every second of it. This is what makes Wimbledon the greatest tournament of all - tradition.

Why does no-one care about the US Open? Partly because it's full of shouting Americans, but also because it's like every other blessed event out there.

Wimbledon's different - and that's why they come flocking from the far corners of the globe to play here.

What will they do away with next? Those delightfully small children in purple and blue chasing around after stray balls? The security men so brutal they would have been refused entry into the SS?

Give 'em an inch now and within a few years they'll be concreting Centre Court.

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Josh Appleby
(politics student, Bristol)

I say, why stop there?

When I was travelling through India - which was awesome, by the way - I never let anyone bow or curtsey to me, and it made me feel good inside.

This decision will make Wimbledon feel good inside too.

All we ever hear about is rules - the Man telling you to do this, the Man telling you not to do that.

Well, I've got news for you - this is the 21st century. And that means giving tennis back to the people.

The name says it all: All England Club. Think about it. All England. Shouldn't that mean, like, all of England?

Believe it or not, there are kids in deprived areas in Bristol who have never even heard of Vincent Spadea and Paradorn Srichaphan.

I'm serious.

And you know what is getting in the way of this country producing another superstar like Tim Henman?

Strawberries. Giant strawberries, covered in cream which is being licked off by fat cats.

I would never be seen anywhere near a bourgeois institution like Wimbledon - oh no.

Anyone who sits anywhere near the Royal Box has nothing but my scorn - except of course my uncle Sir Arthur, who is actually a really, really lovely old man and was awfully good as far as my school fees were concerned.

But as for the rest of them - hey - wake up and smell the coffee! You might just like the taste...