Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts, with a retractable roof over two courts since 2019.
The tournament traditionally took 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.
Traditions
Wimbledon traditions include a strict all-white dress code for competitors and royal patronage.
In 2009, Wimbledon’s Centre Court was fitted with a retractable roof to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain.
A roof was operational over No. 1 Court from 2019, when a number of other improvements were made, including adding cushioned seating, a table and 10 independently operable cameras per court to capture the games.
The ‘All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club’ is a private club founded on July 23, 1868, originally as ‘The All England Croquet Club’. Its first ground was at Nursery Road off Worple Road, Wimbledon.
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.
Inaugural Wimbledon Championship
The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship started on July 9, 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 July 19, 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.
The lawns at the ground were arranged so that the principal court was in the middle with the others arranged around it, hence the title ‘Centre Court’.
The name was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, although no longer a true description of its location. However, in 1980 four new courts were made on the north side of the ground, which meant the Centre Court was once more correctly described. The opening of the new No. 1 Court in 1997 emphasised the description.
By 1882, activity at the club was almost exclusively confined to lawn tennis and that year the word “croquet” was dropped from the title. However, for sentimental reasons it was restored in 1899.
Ladies’ singles
In 1884, the club added the Ladies’ singles competition and the Gentlemen’s doubles was transferred from the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club. Ladies’ doubles and Mixed doubles events were added in 1913. The first black player to compete at Wimbledon was Bertrand Milbourne Clark, an amateur from Jamaica, in 1924.
Until 1922, the reigning champion had to play only in the final, against whomever had won through to challenge him/her. As with the other three Major or Grand Slam events, Wimbledon was contested by top-ranked amateur players; professional players were prohibited from participating.
This changed with the advent of the open era in 1968. No British man won the singles event at Wimbledon between Fred Perry in 1936 and Andy Murray in 2013, while no British woman has won since Virginia Wade in 1977, although Annabel Croft and Laura Robson won the Girls’ Championship in 1984 and 2008. The Championship was first televised in 1937.
From 1915–1918, no tournament was organised due to World War I.
During World War II, the tournament was not held in from 1940–1945. On October 11, 1940 one bomb hit a corner of the competitors’ stand of the ‘Centre Court’. The championships did go ahead in 1946 even though the damage meant that 1,200 seats were lost. The organisers were unable to repair the damaged section until 1947 and the ‘Centre Court’ was fully restored and renovated for the 1949 edition.
In 1946 and 1947 Wimbledon was held before the French Championships and was thus the second Grand Slam tennis event of the year. (TBR)