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Sport

Wimbledon

The world's most famous tennis tournament began in 1877 because a croquet club needed cash to repair its pony-drawn roller. Now it fills SW19 each summer with whites and strawberries.

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Quick Facts

First championships
1877, won by Spencer Gore
Home
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Church Road, SW19
Surface
Grass, the only Grand Slam still played on it
Longest match
John Isner beat Nicolas Mahut in 11 hours 5 minutes over three days in 2010
Most men's singles titles
Roger Federer, eight
Most ladies' singles titles
Martina Navratilova, nine
British champions
Fred Perry 1936, Virginia Wade 1977, Andy Murray 2013 and 2016
Dress code
Almost entirely white, a rule dating back to the Victorian era

The roller that started it all

Wimbledon began life as a croquet club. The All England Croquet Club was founded in 1868 on a site off Worple Road, and by the mid-1870s it was short of money. Lawn tennis, a new craze, looked like a way out. The club added the game in 1875, changed its name, and in 1877 staged a championship to raise funds to repair its pony-drawn roller, the machine that kept the grass in shape. Around 200 spectators watched Spencer Gore win the first men's singles title. Ladies' singles followed in 1884, with Maud Watson the first champion. The club moved to its current Church Road home in 1922, when the new Centre Court opened. Tennis became the club's main activity, but croquet never left: it is still played there, and the club keeps a croquet lawn.

Why everyone is wearing white

The all-white rule is one of sport's strangest survivors. Victorian players wanted to hide sweat stains, and white did the job. The tradition hardened into regulation, and it has been tweaked over the years rather than dropped. Other rituals are just as fixed. Strawberries and cream are the unofficial food of the fortnight. The Royal Box looks down on Centre Court, and players bow or curtsey to royalty there only on certain occasions. Even the ball changed late: yellow balls replaced white ones in 1986, so that television viewers could follow them. The tournament colours are purple and green, and a Harris hawk named Rufus has been employed to scare pigeons away from the courts.

The match that refused to end

In June 2010, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut met in the first round on Court 18. They played for 11 hours and 5 minutes across three days. The fifth set alone lasted over eight hours, and Isner finally won it 70–68. The scoreboard broke under the strain. The match inspired a rule change: from 2019, a tiebreak is played in the final set at 12–12, and the rule has since been adjusted again. No one can repeat Court 18, which now has a commemorative plaque.

Home heroes, long waits

For decades Britain waited for a home champion. Fred Perry won in 1936 and was the last British man to do so for 77 years. Virginia Wade lifted the ladies' trophy in 1977, in the Queen's Silver Jubilee year. Then came Andy Murray. In 2013 he beat Novak Djokovic in the final, ending the drought in front of a Centre Court that could barely breathe. He won again in 2016. While Murray was playing, the grassy bank outside Court 1 was renamed unofficially as Murray Mound, replacing Henman Hill, named after Tim Henman, who reached four semi-finals between 1998 and 2002. Spectators there watch the big screen with picnics and a lot of nerves.

Records, rebels and rain delays

Martina Navratilova won nine ladies' singles titles, and Roger Federer holds the men's record with eight. Federer won the 2017 title without dropping a set. Serena Williams won seven ladies' singles titles and her sister Venus five. Björn Borg won five in a row between 1976 and 1980. In 1985, a 17-year-old Boris Becker became the youngest men's champion. Lottie Dod was younger still when she won the ladies' title in 1887, aged 15. Style has caused its own commotion. In 1949, Gussie Moran wore lace-trimmed knickers designed by Ted Tinling, and the press went wild. The weather, naturally, is the other great character. A roof covers Centre Court from 2009 and Court 1 from 2019. The Middle Sunday was traditionally a day of rest, with play only when rain disrupted the schedule. Since 2022 it has been a scheduled playing day.

War, bombs and cancelled summers

Wimbledon went dark for the First World War, from 1915 to 1918, and for the Second World War, from 1940 to 1945. During the Blitz, a bomb hit Centre Court in 1940, destroying part of the stands. The grounds were used for civil defence and Home Guard activities. The tournament returned in 1946. The only other cancellation was in 2020, when the pandemic stopped the event for the first time since the war. The grass was ready again for 2021.

Notable people

  • Spencer Gore
  • Maud Watson
  • Lottie Dod
  • Fred Perry
  • Virginia Wade
  • Andy Murray
  • Roger Federer
  • Martina Navratilova
  • Serena Williams
  • Venus Williams
  • Björn Borg
  • Boris Becker
  • John Isner
  • Nicolas Mahut
  • Tim Henman
  • Gussie Moran
  • Ted Tinling
  • Novak Djokovic
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