Wimbledon Tennis Tournament

Wimbledon Tennis Tournament 2016

Wimbledon Tennis Tournament

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The Beginning: 

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which is responsible for staging the world’s leading Wimbledon 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.

Wimbledon Championships

In 1875 lawn tennis, a game introduced 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 signaled its change of name by instituting the first Lawn Tennis Championship.

Wimbledon Tennis Tournament

A new code of laws, hitherto administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club, was drawn up for the meeting. These 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.

Wimbledon Tennis Tournament

The lawns at the ground were arranged so that the principal court was located 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 emphasized the description.

Wimbledon Tennis Tournament

 

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.

Wimbledon Championships Singles and Doubles

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/her.

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. No British man has won the singles event at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936 and no British woman has won the Ladies Singles since Virginia Wade in 1977, although Annabel Croft and Laura Robson won the Girls’ Championship in 1984 and 2008, respectively. The Championship was first televised in 1937.

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