Threats around Wimbledon make players think twice

	Officials put stringent security measures into effect at Wimbledon after multiple terror scares around Great Britain this week. Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images

WIMBLEDON, England -- In the sheltered world of professional athletes, sometimes we need a reality check. Outside of the locker rooms, practice courts and VIP lounges we inhabit on a daily basis, there's a world that exists that we seem to be protected from and even ignore from time to time. Until it becomes personal.

This past week in the U.K., alleged terrorist attacks were thwarted in downtown London, as was an incident that occurred at the Glasgow Airport in Scotland. Not long after we received a bomb threat on the grounds here at the All England Club.

What went from a possible terrorist attack somewhere else had all of a sudden become part of our reality and entered into our space. Security at Wimbledon immediately was tightened. Our drop-off point to enter the grounds had been moved across the street. No cars could come in and out of the competitors' entrance anymore.

Bags were checked as many as three times before we were able to enter the grounds. Barricades stood where we once walked through the front gates in order to make sure only those with the proper credentials were permitted. During the morning hours, helicopters flew overhead, bringing with them a sense of uneasiness that filled the wet Wimbledon air. Police with bomb-sniffing dogs made their way through our locker rooms before the start of play.

This is the reality of the world we live in today, where our safety can never be taken for granted. And overnight, it was our reality, too. Since that horrific day in September six years ago, life as we knew it changed forever. Today, terms such as 9/11, terrorist threats, Al-Qaeda and Homeland Security are commonplace in our headline news and everyday conversations.

As tennis players, we live in our own little bubble on the tour, where sometimes the outside world doesn't seem to exist. We walk around oblivious to what's happening outside the lines of a tennis court, thinking it could never happen here, or to us. Our profession requires us to travel the world and constantly navigate airports, traveling from one country to the next. It's part of who we are and what we do, and most of us never think twice about boarding that next plane.

We live in a world where we consistently talk about war -- in the papers, at the dinner table, in passing conversation; it's everywhere and in everyone's subconscious. On the welcome screens of Internet portals, the headline stories almost always read tragedy somewhere.

There is no escape from it. Iraq and Afghanistan seem to always be the topic on everyone lips when speaking about war. Agree or disagree, everyone seems to have their own opinion as to what makes it right or wrong.

As far as these recent events here in Britain, one hypothesis that seems to be making the rounds is that the attacks were timed to the change in administration. The threats came immediately following Tony Blair's departure and the ushering in of the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Conversation in the locker room this week included not only the usual banter about who's playing who, but also conversations about war and terrorist threats. The usual "When do you play?" is now preceded by, "Have you heard about the latest scare?"

On the whole, players have been very cooperative with the new security measures put into place by the All England Club. The general consensus is that, if it means walking a little further from your courtesy car or waiting a few extra minutes to have your bags searched for the sole purpose of our own safety, then so be it.

As this rainy fortnight draws to an end, I hope we walk away from the manicured lawns of Wimbledon a little more aware of the world outside. It's unfortunate that sometimes it takes events such as these, occasions that hit so close to home, to remind us that there is a world outside the bubble of professional tennis. If only the entire world had the luxury of living in that same bubble.

Half of the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the world, SI.com contributor Lisa Raymond is seeking to win back the Wimbledon women's doubles title she claimed in 2001.