The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is considered the most prestigious.[2][3][4] It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, and the only one still played on grass courts.
The tournament takes place over two weeks in late June and early July, culminating with the gentlemen's singles final, scheduled for the second Sunday. Each year, five major events are contested, as well as four junior events and four invitational events.
The hard court Australian Open and clay court French Open precede Wimbledon. The hard court U.S. Open follows. The grass court Queen's Club Championships also in London is a popular warm up tournament for Wimbledon.
Wimbledon traditions include the eating of strawberries and cream, royal patronage, and a strict dress code for competitors. Play has often been interrupted by rain, though delays are set to be reduced with the fitting of a retractable roof to Centre Court.
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which is responsible for staging the world's leading tennis tournament, is a private club founded in 1868, originally as 'The All England Croquet Club'. Its first ground was situated off Worple Road, Wimbledon.
In 1875 lawn tennis, a game devised by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so earlier and originally called 'Sphairistike', was added to the activities of the Club. In the spring of 1877 the Club was re-titled '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 until then administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club) was drawn up for the event. These laws have stood the test of time and 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 only event held in 1877 was the Gentlemen's Singles which was won by Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player, from a field of 22. About 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final.
The lawns at the Ground were arranged in such a way that the principal court was situated in the middle with the others arranged around it; hence the title 'Centre Court', which was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, although not a true description of its location. However, in 1980 four new courts were brought into commission on the north side of the ground, which meant the Centre Court was once more correctly defined. 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 1889 and since then the title has remained The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
In 1884, the All England Club added Ladies' Singles and Gentlemen's Doubles. Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles were added in 1913. Until 1922, the reigning champion had to play only in the final, against whoever had won through to challenge him. As with the other three Grand Slam events, Wimbledon was contested by top-ranked amateur players until the advent of the open era in tennis in 1968. Britons are very proud of the tournament, though it is a source of national anguish and humour – no British man has won the singles event at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936, and no British woman since Virginia Wade in 1977, although Annabel Croft and Laura Robson have won the Girls' championship in 1984 and 2008 respectively. The Championship was first televised in 1937.
Wimbledon is widely considered to be the premier tennis tournament in the world and the priority of The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which hosts The Championships, is to maintain its leadership into the twenty-first century. To that end a Long Term Plan was unveiled in 1993, which will improve the quality of the event for spectators, players, officials and neighbours.
Stage one of the Plan was completed for the 1997 Championships and involved building in Aorangi Park the new No. 1 Court, a Broadcast Centre, two extra grass courts and a tunnel under the hill linking Church Road and Somerset Road.
Stage two involved the removal of the old No. 1 Court complex to make way for the new Millennium Building, providing extensive facilities for the players, press, officials and Members, and the extension of the West Stand of the Centre Court with 728 extra seats.
Stage three has been completed with the construction of an entrance building, housing Club staff, museum, bank and ticket office.a title="" href="#cite_note-4">[5]
A new retractable roof is planned to be in operation for the 2009 Championships, marking the first time in the tournament's history that rain will not stop play on Centre Court. The All England Club tested the new roof at an event called A Centre Court Celebration on Sunday 17 May 2009, which featured exhibition matches involving a title="Andre Agassi" href="/wiki/Andre_Agassi">Andre Agassi, a title="Steffi Graf" href="/wiki/Steffi_Graf">Steffi Graf, a title="Kim Clijsters" href="/wiki/Kim_Clijsters">Kim Clijsters and a title="Tim Henman" href="/wiki/Tim_Henman">Tim Henman.a title="" href="#cite_note-5">[6]
Wimbledon includes five main events, four junior events and four invitation events.a title="" href="#cite_note-6">[7]
The five main events, and the number of players (or teams, in the case of doubles) include the following:
The four junior events and the number of players or teams include the following:
The mixed doubles event is not held at the junior level.
The four invitational and the number of pairs include the following:
Matches in the Gentlemen's Singles and Gentlemen's Doubles competitions are best-of-five sets. Matches in all other events are best-of-three sets. A tiebreak game is played if the score reaches 6-6 in any set except the fifth (in a five-set match) or the third (in a three-set match), in which case a two-game lead must be reached.
All events are a title="Single-elimination tournament" href="/wiki/Single-elimination_tournament">single-elimination tournamentsa title="" href="#cite_note-11">[12], except for the Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles and the Ladies' Invitation Doubles, both of which are a title="Round-robin tournament" href="/wiki/Round-robin_tournament">round-robin tournaments.
Until 1922, the winners of the previous year's competition (except in the Ladies Doubles and Mixed Doubles) were automatically granted a title="Bye (sports)" href="/wiki/Bye_(sports)">byes into the final round (then known as the challenge round). This led to many winners retaining their titles for successive years, as they were able to rest while their opponent competed from the start of the competition. From 1922, the prior-year's champions were not granted byes but were required to play all the rounds, like other tournament competitors.
Each year, the tournament begins on the Monday falling between 20 and 26 June, which is six weeks before the first Monday in August.
Wimbledon begins two weeks after the a title="Queen's Club Championships" href="/wiki/Queen%27s_Club_Championships">Queen's Club Championships, which is one of the men's major warm-up tournaments for Wimbledon. Another important men's warm-up tournament is the a title="Gerry Weber Open" href="/wiki/Gerry_Weber_Open">Gerry Weber Open, which is held in a title="Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia" href="/wiki/Halle,_North_Rhine-Westphalia">Halle, Germany during the same week as the Queen's Club Championships. Other important grass-court tournaments before Wimbledon are Eastbourne, England, and 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, both combining mixed events. The other women's warm-up tournament for Wimbledon is Birmingham, also in England. And to bring the grass court season to an end after the Championships each year there is a tournament held overseas at Newport, Rhode Island, US.
Wimbledon is scheduled for 13 days, beginning on a Monday and ending on a Sunday with the middle Sunday a designated rest day. The five main events span both weeks, but the youth and invitational events are held mainly during the second week. Traditionally, there is no play on the "Middle Sunday", which is considered a rest day. However, rain has forced play on the Middle Sunday three times in the Championship's history: in 1991, 1997, and 2004. On each of these occasions, Wimbledon has staged a "People's Sunday", with unreserved seating and readily available, inexpensive tickets, allowing those with more limited means to sit on the show courts. Additionally, if the tournament is not completed by the end of the second Sunday, all remaining matches are postponed until "People's Monday".
A total of 128 players feature in each singles event, 64 pairs in each single-sex doubles event, and 48 pairs in Mixed Doubles. Players and doubles pairs are admitted to the main events on the basis of their international rankings, with consideration also given to their previous performances at grasscourt events. Currently (since 2001) 32 male and female players are given seedings in the Gentlemen's and Ladies' singles while 16 teams are seeded in the doubles events.
The Committee of Management and the Referee evaluate all applications for entry, and determine which players may be admitted to the tournament directly. The committee may admit a player without a high enough ranking as a a title="Wild card (sports)" href="/wiki/Wild_card_(sports)#Professional_Tennis">wild card. Usually, wild cards are players who have performed well during previous tournaments, or would stimulate public interest in Wimbledon by participating. The only wild card to win the Gentlemen's Singles Championship was a title="Goran Ivanišević" href="/wiki/Goran_Ivani%C5%A1evi%C4%87">Goran Ivanišević in 2001. Players and pairs who neither have high enough rankings nor receive wild cards may participate in a qualifying tournament held one week before Wimbledon at the a title="Bank of England" href="/wiki/Bank_of_England">Bank of England Sports Ground in a title="Roehampton" href="/wiki/Roehampton">Roehampton. The singles qualifying competitions are three-round events; the same-sex doubles competitions last for only one round. There is no qualifying tournament for Mixed Doubles. No qualifier has won either the Gentlemen's Singles or the Ladies' Singles tournaments. The furthest that any qualifier has progressed in the main draw of a Singles tournament is the semi-final round: a title="John McEnroe" href="/wiki/John_McEnroe">John McEnroe in 1977, a title="Vladimir Voltchkov" href="/wiki/Vladimir_Voltchkov">Vladimir Voltchkov in 2000 (Gentlemen's Singles), and a title="Alexandra Stevenson" href="/wiki/Alexandra_Stevenson">Alexandra Stevenson in 1999 (Ladies' Singles).
Players are admitted to the junior tournaments upon the recommendations of their national tennis associations, on their a title="International Tennis Federation" href="/wiki/International_Tennis_Federation">International Tennis Federation world rankings and, in the case of the singles events, on the basis of a qualifying competition. The Committee of Management determines which players may enter the four invitational events.
The Committee seeds the top players and pairs on the basis of their rankings. However, the Committee does also change the seedings due to a player's previous grass court performance. A majority of the entrants are unseeded. Only two unseeded players have ever won the Gentlemen's Singles Championship: a title="Boris Becker" href="/wiki/Boris_Becker">Boris Becker in 1985 and a title="Goran Ivanišević" href="/wiki/Goran_Ivani%C5%A1evi%C4%87">Goran Ivanišević in 2001. (In 1985 there were only 16 seeds and Becker was ranked 20th at the time; Ivanišević, however, was ranked 125th when he won as a Wild Card entrant.) No unseeded player has captured the Ladies' Singles title; the lowest seeded female champion was a title="Venus Williams" href="/wiki/Venus_Williams">Venus Williams, who won in 2007 as the twenty-third seed, beating her own record from 2005, when Williams won as the fourteenth seed. Unseeded pairs have won the doubles titles on numerous occasions; the 2005 Gentlemen's Doubles champions were not only unseeded, but also (for the first time ever) qualifier.
The nineteen courts used for Wimbledon are all composed purely of a title="Rye grass" href="/wiki/Rye_grass">rye grass.
The main show courts, a title="Centre Court" href="/wiki/Centre_Court">Centre Court and a title="No. 1 Court" href="/wiki/No._1_Court">No. 1 Court, are normally used only for two weeks a year, during the Championships, but play can extend into a third week in exceptional circumstances. The remaining seventeen courts are regularly used for other events hosted by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The show courts will, however, be pressed into action for the second time in three months in 2012 as Wimbledon will host the tennis events of the a title="2012 Summer Olympics" href="/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics">2012 Olympic Games. One of the show courts is also used for home games for the GB teams in the a title="Davis Cup" href="/wiki/Davis_Cup">Davis Cup.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event played on grass courts. At one time, all the Grand Slam events, except the French Open, were played on grass. The a title="U.S. Open (tennis)" href="/wiki/U.S._Open_(tennis)">U.S. Open abandoned grass for a synthetic clay surface in 1975 and changed again to a hard surface (a title="DecoTurf" href="/wiki/DecoTurf">DecoTurf) with its 1978 move to a title="USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center" href="/wiki/USTA_Billie_Jean_King_National_Tennis_Center">its current venue. The a title="Australian Open" href="/wiki/Australian_Open">Australian Open abandoned grass for a title="Rebound Ace" href="/wiki/Rebound_Ace">Rebound Ace, a different type of hard surface, in 1988, and switched to yet another type of hard surface, a title="Plexicushion" href="/wiki/Plexicushion">Plexicushion, in 2008.
The principal court, a title="Centre Court" href="/wiki/Centre_Court">Centre Court, was opened in 1922 when the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club moved from Worple Road to Church Road. This change of venue was due to the huge crowd pressure at Worple Road to see the French phenomenon a title="Suzanne Lenglen" href="/wiki/Suzanne_Lenglen">Suzanne Lenglen, and for which that ground proved completely inadequate.
Due to the possibility of rain during Wimbledon, a retractable roof has been installed and will be in operation for the 2009 Championship. The retractable roof is designed to close/open in about 10 minutes and will be closed primarily to protect play from inclement (and, if necessary, extremely hot) weather during The Championships.a title="" href="#cite_note-12">[13] When the roof is being opened or closed play will be suspended. The court has a capacity of 15,000. At its south end is the Royal Box, from which members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries watch matches. Centre Court usually hosts the finals and semi-finals of the main events, as well as many matches in the earlier rounds involving top-seeded players or local favourites.
The second most important court is a title="No. 1 Court" href="/wiki/No._1_Court">No. 1 Court. The court was constructed in 1997 to replace the old No. 1 Court, which was adjacent to Centre Court. The old No. 1 Court was demolished because its capacity for spectators was too low. The court was said to have had a unique, more intimate atmosphere and was a favourite of many players. The new No. 1 Court has a capacity of approximately 11,000.
From 2009 a new a title="No. 2 Court" href="/wiki/No._2_Court">No. 2 Court will be used at Wimbledon with a capacity for 4,000 people. To obtain a title="Planning permission" href="/wiki/Planning_permission">planning permission the playing surface is around 3.5m below ground level, ensuring that the single storey structure is only about 3.5m above ground level, and thus not affecting local viewsa title="" href="#cite_note-Wim_18-13">[14]. Plans to build on the current site of Court 13 were dismissed due to the high capacity of games that will be played at the a title="2012 Summer Olympics" href="/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics">2012 Olympic Games. The old Court No.2 Court will be renamed as Court No.3. The old Court No.2 was also known as the "Graveyard of Champions" due to its reputation as the court on which many seeded players were eliminated during the early rounds. Famous players who have lost there during early rounds include a title="Ilie Nastase" href="/wiki/Ilie_Nastase">Ilie Nastase, a title="John McEnroe" href="/wiki/John_McEnroe">John McEnroe, a title="Boris Becker" href="/wiki/Boris_Becker">Boris Becker, a title="Andre Agassi" href="/wiki/Andre_Agassi">Andre Agassi, a title="Pete Sampras" href="/wiki/Pete_Sampras">Pete Sampras, a title="Martina Hingis" href="/wiki/Martina_Hingis">Martina Hingis, a title="Venus Williams" href="/wiki/Venus_Williams">Venus Williams, and a title="Serena Williams" href="/wiki/Serena_Williams">Serena Williams. The court has a capacity of about 3,000.
At the northern end of the grounds is a giant television screen on which important matches are broadcast. Fans watch from an area of grass officially known as the a title="Aorangi Terrace" href="/wiki/Aorangi_Terrace">Aorangi Terrace, but more commonly called a title="Henman Hill" href="/wiki/Henman_Hill">Henman Hill. The "hill" takes its name from local favourite a title="Tim Henman" href="/wiki/Tim_Henman">Tim Henman, who many fans once hoped would become the first British man to win the tournament since a title="Fred Perry" href="/wiki/Fred_Perry">Fred Perry did so in 1936.
When other British players do well at Wimbledon, the hill attracts fans for them, and is often re-named by the press for them: a title="Greg Rusedski" href="/wiki/Greg_Rusedski">Greg Rusedski's followers convened at "Rusedski Ridge", and a title="Andrew Murray (tennis player)" href="/wiki/Andrew_Murray_(tennis_player)">Andy Murray has had the hill nicknamed "Murray Mound", "Mount Murray", or "Murray Field" (after the a title="Murrayfield Stadium" href="/wiki/Murrayfield_Stadium">Scottish rugby stadium).
Ball boys and ball girls
In the championship games, a title="Ballkid" href="/wiki/Ballkid">ball boys and girls, known as BBGs, play a crucial role in the smooth running of the tournament, with a brief that a good BBG "should not be seen. They should blend into the background and get on with their jobs quietly."a title="" href="#cite_note-14">[15].
From 1947 ball boys were supplied by Goldings a title="" href="#cite_note-15">[16], the only a title="Barnardos" href="/wiki/Barnardos">Barnardos school to provide them. Previous to this, from the 1920s onwards, the ball boys had been provided by The Shaftsbury Children's Home.
Since 1969, BBGs have been provided by local schools. As of 2008 they are drawn from schools in the London boroughs of a title="Merton" href="/wiki/Merton">Merton, a title="Sutton" href="/wiki/Sutton">Sutton, a title="Kingston upon Thames" href="/wiki/Kingston_upon_Thames">Kingston and a title="Wandsworth" href="/wiki/Wandsworth">Wandsworth, as well as from a title="Surrey" href="/wiki/Surrey">Surreya title="" href="#cite_note-16">[17]. BBGs have an average age of 15, being drawn from the school years a title="Year Nine" href="/wiki/Year_Nine">nine and a title="Year Ten" href="/wiki/Year_Ten">ten. BBGs will serve for one, or if re-selected, two tournaments.
As of 2005, BBGs work in crews of six, 2 at the net, 4 at the corners, and crews rotate one hour on court, one hour off, (two hours depending on the court) for the day's playa title="" href="#cite_note-17">[18]. Crews are not told which court they will be working on the day, to ensure the same standards across all courts. With the expansion of the number of courts, and lengthening the tennis day, as of 2008, the number of BBGs required is around 250. BBG service is unpaid and is seen as a privilege, but it is seen as a valuable addition to a school leavers a title="Curriculum vitae" href="/wiki/Curriculum_vitae">curriculum vitae, showing discipline. BBG places are split 50:50 between boys and girls, with girls having been used since 1977, appearing on centre court since 1985a title="" href="#cite_note-18">[19].
Prospective BBGs are first nominated by their school a title="Headteacher" href="/wiki/Headteacher">headteacher, to be considered for selection. To be selected, a candidate must pass written tests on the rules of tennis, and pass fitness, mobility and other suitability tests, against initial preliminary instruction material. Successful candidates then commence a training phase, starting in February, in which the final BBGs are chosen through continual assessment. As of 2008, this training intake was 600. The training includes weekly sessions of physical, procedural and theoretical instruction, to ensure that the BBGs are fast, alert, self confident and adaptable to situations. As of 2007, early training occurs at a title="Sutton Junior Tennis Centre (page does not exist)" href="/w/index.php?title=Sutton_Junior_Tennis_Centre&action=edit&redlink=1">Sutton Junior Tennis Centre, and then moves to the main courts after a title="Easter" href="/wiki/Easter">Easter.
Christopher Raby from Overton Grange School is the only ballboy to have been bag boy for two consecutive men's finals, in 2006 and 2007, both between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He carried Nadal's in 2006 and Federer's in 2007.
Colours and uniforms
Dark green and a title="Purple" href="/wiki/Purple">purple (sometimes also referred to as a title="Mauve" href="/wiki/Mauve">mauve) are the traditional Wimbledon colours. However, 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. Wearing white clothing with some colour accents is also acceptable. Green clothing was worn by the chair umpire, linesmen, ball boys and ball girls until the 2005 Championships; however, beginning with the 2006 Championships, officials, ball boys and ball girls were outfitted in new navy blue and cream coloured uniforms from American designer a title="Ralph Lauren" href="/wiki/Ralph_Lauren">Ralph Lauren. This marked the first time in the history of the Championships that an outside company was used to design Wimbledon clothing. Wimbledon's contract with Ralph Lauren is set to last until 2009.
Referring to players
On scoreboards, female players are referred to by the title "Miss" or "Mrs"; married female players are referred to by their husbands' names: for example, a title="Chris Evert" href="/wiki/Chris_Evert">Chris Evert-Lloyd appeared on scoreboards as "Mrs. J. M. Lloyd" during her marriage to a title="John Lloyd (tennis player)" href="/wiki/John_Lloyd_(tennis_player)">John Lloyd. This tradition has continued at least to some extent.a title="" href="#cite_note-19">[20]
The title "Mr" is not used for male players who are professionals on scoreboards but the prefix is retained for amateurs, although chair umpires refer to players as "Mr" when they use the replay challenge. The chair umpire will say "Mr <surname> is challenging the call..." and "Mr <surname> has X challenges remaining."
Royal family
Previously, players bowed or curtsied to members of the Royal Family seated in the Royal Box upon entering or leaving Centre Court. In 2003, however, the President of the All England Club, HRH The Duke of Kent, decided to discontinue the tradition. Now, players are required to bow or curtsy only if the Queen or the Prince of Wales is present.