Call for refunds after tennis legends rained off

CALLS have been made for organisers of last weekend’s washed-out Champions of Tennis event to consider offering compensation after heavy showers caused severe disruption on a court designed to guarantee uninterrupted play.

Fans shelled out up to £100 for tickets to watch tennis legends including John McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic on a court built with £100,000 of public money, which organisers said featured a “bespoke canopy” ensuring bad weather would “not stop play”.

But matches were suspended for four hours on Saturday after the venue in Portgower Place was deluged by driving rain.

Councillor Iain Whyte, Conservative member for Inverleith, said: “It does seem odd that organisers would give a pledge that rain would not stop play and then have hardly any play because of the rain. People will be expecting some sort of compensation because they did not see very much tennis.”

Rick Loup, who paid £240 for three Saturday tickets, said: “I want a refund. I saw five minutes’ play at 2.25pm and four hours later at 6.15pm. I have been cheated and misled.”