WIMBLEDON

CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is regarded by many as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts, with retractable roofs over the two main courts since 2019.

The tournament traditionally takes place over two weeks in late June and early July, starting on the last Monday in June and culminating with the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Singles Finals, scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday at the end of the second week.

Both the men's and ladies' singles consist of 128 players. Players and doubles pairs are admitted to the main events on the basis of their international rankings, with 104 direct entries into the men's and 108 into the ladies' competitions. Both tournaments have 8 wild card entrants, with the remainder in each made up of qualifiers.

HOW IT STARTED

old wimbledon The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is a private club founded on 23 July 1868, originally as "The All England Croquet Club". Its first ground was at Nursery Road off Worple Road, Wimbledon.

In 1876, lawn tennis, a game devised by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so earlier as an outdoor version of real tennis and originally given the name Sphairistikè, was added to the activities of the club. In spring 1877, the club was renamed "The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club" and signalled its change of name by instituting the first Lawn Tennis Championship. A new code of laws, replacing the code administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club, was drawn up for the event. Today's rules are similar except for details such as the height of the net and posts and the distance of the service line from the net.

The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship started on 9 July 1877 and the Gentlemen's Singles was the only event held. 22 men paid a guinea to enter the tournament, which was to be held over five days. The rain delayed it four more days and thus, on 19 July 1877, the final was played. Spencer Gore, an Old Harrovian rackets player, defeated William Marshall 6–1, 6–2 and 6–4 in 48 minutes. Gore was presented with the silver challenge cup, valued at 25 guineas and donated by the sports magazine The Field, as well as a prize money of 12 guineas. About 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final.

NOTABLE MOMENTS

1877

THE FIRST WIMBLEDON was held, known then as the world's first official lawn tennis tournament

1985

THE YOUNGEST WIMBLEDON CHAMPION, Boris Becker burst onto the international scene at the tender age of 17 years old.

2008

RELENTLESS NADAL-FEDERER FINAL: 2008: RELENTLESS NADAL-FEDERER FINAL The rivalry between Nadal and Federer is considered one of the greatest in sport history.Wimbledon final in 2008 is considered by many to be the greatest match in tennis history and was of the highest calibre as world No. 1 and 2 tried to establish dominance.

2013

MURRAY’S LONG-AWAITED TRIUMPH: Wimbledon waited 77 years for a British Gentlemen’s singles Champion, with the last one dating back to 1936 from Fred Perry.

2016

SERENA WILLIAMS earns not only her seventh Wimbledon title, but her 22nd Slam overall. Lifting the trophy at age 34, Serana became the oldest person to do so, cementing her place in the Tennis Hall of Fame

TROPHIES

The Gentlemen's Singles champion is presented with a silver gilt cup 18.5 inches (about 47 cm) in height and 7.5 inches (about 19 cm) in diameter. The trophy is decorated with a variety of symbols, including a miniature gold pineapple. The trophy has been awarded since 1887 and bears the inscription: "All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World". The actual trophy remains the property of the All England Club in their museum, so the champion receives a three-quarter size replica of the Cup bearing the names of all past Champions (height 13.5 inches, 34 cm).
ALL-WHITE OUTFITS

All tennis players participating in the tournament are required to wear all-white or at least almost all-white clothing, a long-time tradition at Wimbledon. This rule was put in place in 1963, when the tournament’s first dress code was enforced. Wearing white clothing with some colour accents is also acceptable, provided the colour scheme is not that of an identifiable commercial brand logo (the outfitter's brand logo being the sole exception).
STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM

Strawberries and cream are traditionally eaten by spectators at Wimbledon and have become culturally synonymous with the tournament. The story behind this tradition is about when King Henry VIII visited Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Wolsey’s home was at Hampton Court, about six miles from Wimbledon. The rumor is that the chancellor’s cook served wild strawberries and cream as a dessert while the King was there. Since the King ate it, the dessert gained popularity. In 2017, fans consumed 34,000 kg (33 imperial tons) of British strawberries and 10,000 litres (2,200 imperial gallons) of cream. In 2019, 191,930 portions of strawberries and cream were served at The Championships at Wimbledon.
TICKETS

The majority of centre and show court tickets sold to the general public have since 1924 been made available by a public ballot that the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club holds at the start of the year. The ballot has always been substantially oversubscribed. Successful applicants are selected at random by a computer. The most recent figures from 2011 suggested there were four applicants to every ballot ticket. Applications must be posted to arrive at the AELTC by the last day of December in the year prior to the tournament. Seats and days are allocated randomly and ballot tickets are not transferable.

SOURCES

Wikipedia

Wimbledon Website

WIMBLEDON

CHAMPIONSHIPS

HISTORY

HOW IT STARTED

NOTABLE MOMENTS

1877

1985

2008

2013

2016

TRADITIONS

TROPHIES

ALL-WHITE OUTFITS

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM

TICKETS

PAST WINNERS

SOURCES