The Wimbledon tennis tournament is held annually at the All England Club in the United Kingdom.
The grass tournament started in 1877, according to Wimbledon’s website. A total of 22 men were entered into the tournament, at a fee of £1 1 shilling. They brought their own rackets and shoes without heels, but the balls were provided by the club, which had been formed in 1869.
“Conditions were primitive. A temporary three-plank stand offered seats for 30 people, the total attendance for the final was 200, the rackets resembled snowshoes in shape and weight and the balls had hand-sewn flannel outer casings.”
The first women’s championship was held in 1884, although it was not allowed to start until the men’s tournament had finished. The women did have the luxury of paying half the entrance fee of that charged to men.
Lottie Dodd became known soon after, because she won five Wimbledons between 1887 and 1893, dropping only one set when she played. On the men’s side, William Renshaw was well-known in the early 1900s for winning seven Wimbledon titles.
Among the history of Wimbledon is that the 1908 Olympic games were partly held there.
Television coverage of the tournament started in 1937.
Check out some more facts about the tournament below, and famous matches below that:
Facts
-The grounds hold up to 38,500 spectators at any time
-There’s 41 total courts
-The grass is rye grass, changed in September 2000 from a combination rye-red fescue
-Players most wear “almost entirely white,” a rule introduced in 1995
-BBC will be the host broadcaster until at least 2017
-The global television audience was estimated at over 378 million in 2013
-17.3 million viewers tuned in to watch Andy Murray-Novak Djokovic in the 2014 final.
-Wimbledon was moved to Church Road from Worple Road in 1922
-The No. 1 Court opened in 1924.
-Mixed doubles are introduced in 1937
-The Centre Court was bombed during World War II in 1940
-Queen Elizabeth visited Wimbledon for the first time in 1957
-The first Open Wimbledon came in 1968
-A strike in 1973 caused 79 players to withdraw
-The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum was introduced in 1977
-A new No. 1 court as introduced in 1997
-Wimbledon the movie came out in 2004
-Equal prize money was introduced in 2007
-The Centre Court roof was officially introduced on May 17, 2009
-The Queen returned to the tournament in 2010, the first time in 33 years
Famous matches
1927 - Henri Cochet vs Jean Borotra
1933 - Jack Crawford vs Ellsworth Vines
1935 - Helen Wills Moody vs Helen Jacobs
1936 - Fred Perry vs Gottfried von Cramm
1937 - Donald Budge vs Gottfried von Cramm
1938 - Donald Budge vs Bunny Austin
1953 - Jaroslav Drobny vs Budge Patty
1953 - Maureen Connolly vs Doris Hart
1956 - Lew Hoad vs Ken Rosewall
1958 - Ashley Cooper vs Neale Fraser
1961 - Angela Mortimer vs Christine Reuman
1964 - Margaret Court vs Maria Bueno
1969 - Pancho Gonzales vs Charlie Pasarell
1970 - Margaret Court vs Billie Jean King
1970 - John Newcombe vs Ken Rosewall
1971 - Margaret Court vs Evonne Goolagong
1972 - Stan Smith vs Ilie Nastase
1976 - Bjorn Borg vs Ilie Nastase
1977 - Bjorn Borg vs Vitas Gerulaitis
1977 - Bjorn Borg vs Jimmy Conners
1977 - Jimmy Conners vs John McEnroe
1978 - Chris Evert vs Martina Navratilova
1980 - Billie Jean King vs Martina Navratilova
1980 - Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe
1981 - Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe
1982 - John McEnroe vs Jimmy Conners
1987 - Chris Evert vs Martina Navratilova
1987 - Jimmy Connors vs Mikael Pernfors
1988 - Chris Evert vs Martina Navratilova
1990 - Boris Becker vs Stefan Edberg
1991 - Steffi Graf vs Gabriela Sabatini
1992 - Andre Agassi vs Goren Ivanisevic
1993 - Steffi Graf vs Jana Novotna
1995 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario vs Steffi Graf
1997 - Tim Henman vs Paul Haarhuis
1998 - Martina Hingis vs Jelena Dokic
1999 - Steffi Graf vs Venus Williams
1999 - Pete Sampras vs Andre Agassi
2000 - Venus Williams vs Lindsay Davenport
2000 - Andre Agassi vs Pat Rafter
2002 - Pete Sampras vs George Bastl
2003 - Lleyton Hewitt vs Ivo Kalovic
2005 - Venus Williams vs Lindsay Davenport
2007 - Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal
2008 - Venus Williams vs Serena Williams
2009 - Serena Williams vs Elena Dementieva
2009 - Andy Murray vs Stanislas Wawrinka
2010 - John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut
2011 - Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal
2012 - Roger Federer vs Andy Murray
2012 - Serena Williams vs Agnieszka Radwanska
2013 - Bob and Mike Bryan vs Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo
2013 - Andy Murray vs Novak Djokovic
2013 - Marion Bartoli vs Sabine Lisicki
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