Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slams of tennis, and the only one that is played on a surface of grass. The two week tournament, which is simply referred to by the suburb of London that it is located in, has been in existence since 1877. At first a men's only event, women joined the affair in 1884. Wimbledon is the oldest of the Grand Slams, and It is considered the most coveted title to win by a majority of tennis players, because of the prestige associated with the event.
The Beginning
According to Wimbledon.org, the club that gave birth to the Wimbledon the world knows today was originally known as the All England Croquet Club. Not until 1877, just two years after lawn tennis was introduced to the club by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield in 1875, did the club officially welcome lawn tennis into its name. To this day, the club is still officially known as "The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club." Wimbledon celebrated this name change by instituting the first ever Lawn Tennis Championships in 1877. In that year, 200 spectators watched Spencer Gore become the first Wimbledon champion when he emerged victorious from a field of 22.
Wimbledon Grows
During the 1920's and 1930's, players from Great Britain, France, and America regularly competed for the Wimbledon crown, as stars such as Suzanne Lenglen of France, Helen Wills of the U.S., and Fred Perry of Great Britain became famed ambassadors of the game. Crowds grew to around 200,000 spectators for the tournament in the 1930's, and Fred Perry, still Great Britain's last Wimbledon champion to this day, kept them all buzzing when he won three singles titles in succession.
Wartime Blues
During World War II, the tournament went on hiatus for several years. The annual two-week championships, also known as the fortnight, were not played from 1940 to 1945, but the club did manage to keep its doors open despite the loss of staff and struggles that the country endured as a result of the war. Troops were allowed to use the grounds for drilling, and a farm that featured pigs, geese, and rabbits was erected in the interim. In 1940, enemy bombs struck and resulted in severe damage to Wimbledon's storied Centre Court. After a five year break, the championships resumed in 1946.
Modern Heroes
Several tennis heroes have grown their legends with success on the Wimbledon grass. Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova each hold the record for overall Wimbledon titles, with twenty. Navratilova's nine singles titles are the most among women, and Pete Sampras' seven are most in men's singles history. Roger Federer and Bjorn Borg each won five consecutive titles during their best days, and Steffi Graf won seven women's singles titles in nine years between 1988 and 1996.
The Roof Over Centre Court
In 2009, the All England Club unveiled a roof over Centre Court in order to defend itself against a century long tradition of rain interrupted tennis which wreaked havoc on the tournament's schedule. The roof takes only 10 minutes to close, but play is delayed another 30 minutes to allow for drying of the air.
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