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 When
we think of summer, we think of Wimbledon. Where is Wimbledon?
What is its history? Let's find out...
The All England Lawn Tennis & 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,
and its first ground was situated off Worple Road, Wimbledon.
The first meeting of The Lawn Tennis Championships in 1877 enjoyed
a garden party atmosphere, and attracted a few hundred spectators.
Situated since 1922 at Church Road, The Championships is the
only Grand Slam tennis event still held on grass. As a highly
professional tournament, it attracts an attendance of nearly
500,000 people and through press, radio and television a following
of hundreds of millions throughout the world.
Membership of the Club
There are 375 full members of The Club, plus a number of honorary
members, including past singles champions, of various nationalities,
who have rendered distinguished service to the game. In addition,
there are about 100 temporary members, who are elected from
year to year, and active players who are in a position to make
regular use of The Club and to play in Club matches during their
period of membership.
Club Colours
The present Club colours, dark green and purple, were introduced
in 1909, following the discovery that the previous colours of
the Club were almost indentical with those of the Royal Marines,
which were blue, yellow, red and green. The decision as to why
dark green and purple were chosen is not stated in the Club's
records.
Merchandising
The Wimbledon Merchandising programme was started by The All
England Lawn Tennis Club in 1979 and has three objectives: to
increase awareness of Wimbledon throughout the world; to enhance
further the image of The Championships and to provide additional
funds for the development of lawn tennis.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club has 28 licensees in 7 countries.
The principal products licensed are tennis and casual wear,
footwear, tennis rackets and bags and tennis balls. In addition,
the Club licenses a select range of luxury products such as
towels, fine leather goods, sunglasses, crystal, chinaware,
jewellery and luxury food products. In the UK, there are Wimbledon
'Shop in Shops' in Harrods and Lillywhite as well as duty free
outlets at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The trademark of the
Wimbledon crossed rackets and flying 'W' are registered in some
42 countries. Wimbledon merchandise is now available at shop.wimbledon.org
Use of Courts
Apart from the Centre and No.1 Courts, the courts are used all
year round by the Club members and LTA sponsored players. The
grass courts are in play from May to September, except Centre
Court and No.1 Court which are used only for The Championships.
The courts are occasionally used by a number of clubs and organisations,
for the staging of various events and tournaments.
The Origins of the All England Club (1877-1914)
In 1877, the first Lawn Tennis Championships, an amateur event,
was instituted at The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club.
The only event held was the Gentlemen's Singles which was won
by Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player, from a field
of 22. Spectators paid one shilling to watch the final. In 1884
the Ladies' Singles was inaugurated and from an entry of 13
players, Maud Watson became the Champion. That same year, the
Gentlemen's Doubles was started, the trophy being donated to
the Club by Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club upon cessation
of their doubles championship, played from 1879 to 1883.
As the popularity of Wimbledon increased, the facilities for
spectators were suitably improved. Permanent stands gradually
took the place of temporary Accommodation as by the mid-1880s
crowds flocked to see the prowess of British twins, Ernest and
William Renshaw, who separately and as doubles partners won
13 titles between 1881 and 1889. The boom in popularity of the
game in this period became known as the 'Renshaw Rush'.
By the turn of the century, Wimbledon had assumed an international
character and in
1905, May Sutton of the United States became the first Champion
from overseas when she won the Ladies' Singles title. She repeated
her success in 1907, the year when Norman Brookes of Australia
became the first Gentlemen's Singles Champion from overseas.
Since that year, only two players from Great Britain, Arthur
Gore and Fred Perry, have managed to win the event.
The Club moves as Britain and France dominate (1914-1939)
During the First World War, play at Wimbledon was suspended
and the Club survived on donations from Club members and well-wishers.
When Wimbledon resumed in 1919, a new generation of players
sought honours. Suzanne Lenglen of France ended Britain's 35
year dominance of the Ladies' Singles when she defeated the
holder, Dorothea Lambert Chambers. 1920 heralded the arrival
of Bill Tilden of the United States, acclaimed by many as the
greatest player in the history of the game.
In 1920, the new ground at Church Road was purchased after efforts
to extend the old ground by purchasing adjoining properties
had failed. In 1922, the Club moved to Church Road and a new
era began. The foresight to build such a large stadium, originally
designed for 14,000 people, did more to popularise the game
than any other event to date.
Each year during the 1920s, France produced at least one singles
Champion. Towards the end of Suzanne Lenglen's reign, the famous
'Four Musketeers' - Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet,
and Rene Lacoste - appeared on the scene and during the next
ten years won six singles and five doubles titles between them.
In 1930 Bill Tilden returned to gain his third crown at the
age of 38 and a year later Cilly Aussem won Germany's first
singles title. In 1932, over 200,000 spectators were present
for the first time.
The mid- to late 1930s were a golden era for British tennis
when 11 titles were claimed, including three successive Gentlemen's
Singles titles for Fred Perry and two by Dorothy Round. In 1937
and 1938, Donald Budge and Helen Wills Moody, both of the United
States, captured the singles titles.
Australia and America Dominate (1945-1967)
During the Second World War the Club remained open despite a
severe curtailment of staff. The premises were used for a variety
of civil defence and military functions such as fire and ambulance
services, Home Guard and a decontamination unit. In October
1940 a bomb struck Centre Court, resulting in the loss of 1,200
seats.
In 1946 play resumed at Wimbledon and by 1949 the Grounds were
fully restored to their pre-War state. The American dominance
of Wimbledon continued well into the 1950s. Outstanding among
an array of Champions were Jack Kramer, Ted Schroeder, Tony
Trabert, Louise Brough, Maureen Connolly and Althea Gibson,
the first black winner.
From 1956 until the early 1970s, the Gentlemen's Singles was
virtually the property of Australia and Lew Hoad, Neale Fraser,
Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and John Newcombe became household names.
The sequence of American wins in the Ladies' Singles was not
broken until 1959 when Maria Bueno of Brazil triumphed. In the
1960s, Margaret Smith became the first Australian to win the
event, while Angela Mortimer and Ann Jones won for Great Britain.
The expansion of air travel in the 1950s meant more and more
overseas players were competing at Wimbledon. At the same time
players were increasingly branded "shamateurs" for
receiving financial assistance well in excess of the amounts
allowed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the governing
body of the game worldwide.
The Professional Era (1967-Present)
The initiative for reform came from the Club, which proposed
in 1959 that The Championships be made open to all players.
The move was rejected by both the ITF and the LTA. In 1967 an
invitation tournament to mark the advent of colour television
was sponsored by the BBC at Wimbledon. The players included
professionals who had won honours at Wimbledon in their amateur
days but who had forfeited the right to play in The Championships
upon turning professional. Later that year, the LTA voted overwhelmingly
to open The Championships and in 1968, the first "open"
Championships were held. Rod Laver and Billie Jean King were
the first of such Champions.
In 1973, nearly 80 members of the Association of Tennis Professionals
boycotted Wimbledon following the suspension of Nikki Pilic
by the Yugoslavian Lawn Tennis Association. Despite the absence
of so many players, attendance reached over 300,000. Jan Kodes
of Czechoslovakia and Billie Jean King won the singles' Championships.
In 1977, The Championships celebrated their centenary. As part
of the celebrations the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum was opened.
The centenary of the Ladies' Singles Championship was celebrated
in 1984.
Records that have been broken in recent years
In 1980, Bjorn Borg of Sweden became the first player to win
the Gentlemen's Singles five times in succession since William
Renshaw in the late 1880s when there was a "Challenge"
round. (From 1878 - 1921 the winner of the competition challenged
the holder for the right to be the new Champion.)
In 1985, 17 year old Boris Becker of Germany became the youngest
player, the first unseeded player and the first German to win
the Gentlemen's Singles.
In 1987, Martina Navratilova of the United States became the
first player to win the Ladies' Singles six times in succession
and in 1990 attained the all-time record of nine victories in
the event.
In 1996, Martina Hingis of Switzerland became the youngest ever
Champion, winning the Ladies' Doubles Championship at 15 years,
282 days.
In 2000, Pete Sampras of the United States won the Gentlemen's
Singles for the fourth time in a row and for the seventh time
in total - equalling William Renshaw's long-standing record.
In 2001, Goran Ivanisevic became the first wildcard to win the
Gentlemen's Singles.
Did You Know?
Spencer Gore told the press, after winning the first Gentlemen's
Singles Final, "Lawn tennis is a bit boring. It will never
catch on."
There have only been four occasions since 1922 where there was
no rain during The Championships - 1931, 1976, 1993 and 1995.
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London
This
month, we are traveling to the City of London. Not as exotic
as our last month's locations, but a popular travel destination
nevertheless.
London
has famous tourist attractions and a wealth of history and
romance.
London's
Newest Restaurants
London Food Facts
The
London Restaurant Scene
As
the world's capital, London offers history, culture, dining
and fun
Virgin Airlines
Bargain
Britain
The New
Mini
Wimbledon
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