ARTISAN RUG COMPANY RE-CREATES WIMBLEDON TENNIS COURT WITH 93 HAND-KNOTTED RUGS
The Wimbledon Championships turn the Wimbledon district in southwest London into a tennis paradise each year. The Indian rug manufacturer Jaipur Rugs reimagined the boundaries of conventional tennis courts in a creative marketing effort to commemorate the event last year.
As the name implies, the brand's The Court of Carpets campaign featured a tennis court made of 93 hand-knotted carpets rather than concrete, asphalt, or grass. The measurements of an actual tennis lawn were then replicated by carefully stacking and assembling these vintage rugs into a rectangular shape. The highlighted carpets all had elaborate patterns and vibrant colour schemes to heighten the project's sense of immersion, with a focus on a misty green that was evocative of Wimbledon's grass courts. Along with almost 120 handmade woollen tennis balls, Jaipur Rugs also painstakingly made the tennis net and four rackets out of bamboo silk.
However, this carpeted tennis court was more than just a marketing gimmick or aesthetic experiment. Additionally, it hosted a number of tennis matches featuring Rohan Bopanna, the best tennis player in India. As part of his collaboration with Jaipur Rugs, Bopanna competed against four female master artisans from Manpura who had all had weeks of coaching before the event. The women all wore sarees during their matches versus Bopanna, creating an intriguing contrast between traditional and modern styles. The Court of Carpets also emphasised the parallels between sports and artisanship, both of which require deft hands, light motions, professional precision, and, most of the time, years of training.