Light and sound: how the elite can recover quicker

Chamber costing 128,000 has been installed at SW19 as players focus on aiding performance via science

- Sean Ingle

Before his straight-sets first-round victory over Alexandre Müller, the American No 21 seed, Tommy Paul, stepped into the All England Club’s new recovery suite and laid down on a strange zigzag-shaped bed.At that point, hydrogen gas was pumped through his nostrils and his body experienced multiwave light, pulsed electromagnetic and sound therapy - all from a £128,000 device called the Ammortal Chamber, which claims to be “the fastest way to reset, recharge and rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit”.

“It was cool,” he says, before looking a little sheepish. “I’m not sure what it does because I fell asleep. But it was great. I felt very rested for sure.”

Marc Violone, who co-owns the wellness company Recover and worked with Wimbledon to create its new recovery zone, is more descriptive. “The Ammortal combines five research-backed modalities to balance the body and mind,” he says.

“It is almost as an out-of-body experience, but not to the point where you’re over energised or too calm.”