Wimbledon Tennis Championship History
The history of Wimbledon dates way back to 1875 when the All England Croquet Club was cajoled into setting aside a bit of its land on Worple Street for lawn tennis.The club had been suffering a bit of a slump and was battling to attract new membership. With the introduction of the ever increasingly popular summer sport, lawn tennis, all this changed, and the club was forced to move with the times and amend its name to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
As with today, rental on land in the late 19th century was dear in the city of London, and in an effort to pay for the four acres of prime property, additional funds had to be raised. The first ever lawn tennis tournament was organised, and in 1877 22 players competed before 200 spectators at the first Wimbledon Championships.
The championships soon caught the imagination of the public and became more popular as every year went by. It was not long before Wimbledon men's tennis champions began to emerge, and one of the first was a man called William Renshaw. The Brit managed to rake in no fewer than seven singles titles, six of which were back-to-back, an unbelievable record which still stands today, 118 years on.
Then in the late 1800s and early 1900s the Doherty brothers dominated the championships. Younger brother Reginald took the title on four occasions, whilst his brother Laurence walked away as five-time victor, making Wimbledon tennis championship history
Due to the difficulty of international travel, it was only in 1910 that the men’s singles title was claimed by a native of another land. New Zealander Anthony Wilding crushed British hopes with his four consecutive victories, and then it was the turn of Australian great, Norman Brookes, to deny the English a win until Fred Perry took centre stage in 1934.
The turn of the ladies to compete on the hallowed lawns of the All England Club came as early as 1884, a mere seven years after the first men’s singles event. The men’s doubles was included at the same championships, whereas the ladies doubles and mixed doubles events were added in 1913.
American, May Sutton, became the first international competitor to claim the crown at the 1905 championships, and before then names like Lottie Dod (five titles) and Blanche Bingley-Hillyard (five wins & seven runner-ups) recurred with boring regularity.
The championships were discontinued for the duration of both great wars, and after the Second World War, the face of Wimbledon changed. Long trousers and dresses with stockings were replaced by shorts and shorter skirts, and the period of British dominance was a thing of the past. In fact, no British man has lifted the title since Fred Perry in1936 and only three British women have been successful – Angela Mortimer in 1961, Ann Haydon-Jones in 1969 and Virginia Wade in 1977.
It was the time of Australians, Lew Hoad, Rod Laver and John Newcombe who had the championships sewn up for most of the 50s and 60s.
Then it was the turn of one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Bjorn Borg, to show off his immense skills against the likes of Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe. Finally, an American called Pete Sampras joined the fray and single-handedly controlled the outcome of the championships for most of the 1990s until current champion, Roger Federer stepped up to claim five straight titles from 2003 to 2007.
In later years legends like Billie-Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf have picked up title after title, smashing and setting records, and making Wimbledon tennis championship history. Currently it is the American duo of Venus and Serena Williams who are jealously guarding their status as Wimbledon champions.
| The Championships, Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Official web | ||
| Location | Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton UK | |
| Venue | The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club | |
| Surface | Grass / Outdoor (Except Centre Court during rain and consequently bad light when roof is already in play) | |
| Men's draw | 128S (128Q) / 64D (16Q) | |
| Women's draw | 128S (96Q) / 64D (16Q) | |
| Mixed draw | 48D | |
| Prize money | £14,600,000 ($23,800,000) (€16,600,000) | |
| G | ||
Trophies and prize money
The Gentlemen's Singles champion receives a silver gilt cup 18.5 inches (about 47 cm) in height and 7.5 inches (about 19 cm) in diameter. The trophy has been awarded since 1887 and bears the inscription: "All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World." The Ladies' Singles champion receives a sterling silver salver commonly known as the "Venus Rosewater Dish", or simply the "Rosewater Dish". The salver, which is 18.75 inches (about 48 cm) in diameter, is decorated with figures from mythology. The winners of the Gentlemen's Doubles, Ladies' Doubles, and Mixed Doubles events receive silver cups. The runner-up in each event receives an inscribed silver plate. The trophies are usually presented by the President of the All England Club, The Duke of Kent.
Prize money was first awarded in 1968, the first year that professional players were allowed to compete in the Championships.
Prior to 2007, among grand slam tournaments, Wimbledon and the French Open awarded more prize money in men's events than in women's events. In 2007, Wimbledon changed this policy, giving the same money for both events though this decision has not been without controversy.
In 2009, a total of £12,500,000 in prize money was awarded with the singles champions receiving £850,000 each, an increase of 13.3 percent on 2008.
For the 2010 Championships, the total prize money increased to £13,725,000, and the singles champions received £1,000,000 each. For the 2011 Wimbledon Championships it has been announced that the total prize money will be £14,600,000 an increase of 6.4% from 2010. Both male and female singles champions prize money will also increase to £1,100,000, a rise of 10% on the previous year.
Ranking points
Ranking points for the ATP and WTA have varied at Wimbledon through the years but presently singles players receive the following points:
| ATP | WTA | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Round | 10 | 5 |
| 2nd Round | 45 | 100 |
| 3rd Round | 90 | 160 |
| 4th Round | 180 | 280 |
| Quarter Finalist | 360 | 500 |
| Semi Finalist | 720 | 900 |
| Runner Up | 1200 | 1400 |
| Champion | 2000 | 2000 |
| Event | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Men's Singles |  Rafael Nadal |  Tomáš Berdych | 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 |
| 2010 Women's Singles |  Serena Williams |  Vera Zvonareva | 6–3, 6–2 |
| 2010 Men's Doubles |  Jürgen Melzer Philipp Petzschner |  Robert Lindstedt Horia Tecău | 6–1, 7–5, 7–5 |
| 2010 Women's Doubles | Vania King Yaroslava Shvedova | Elena Vesnina Vera Zvonareva | 7–6(8–6), 6–2 |
| 2010 Mixed Doubles |  Leander Paes Cara Black |  Wesley Moodie Lisa Raymond | 6–4, 7–6(7–5) |
Wimbledon Championships Winners
Year | Men’s Winners | Ladies’ Winners | Year | Men’s Winners | Ladies’ Winners |
| 1966 | Manolo Santana | Billie Jean King | 1987 | Pat Cash | Martina Navratilova |
| 1967 | John Newcombe | Billie Jean King | 1988 | Stefan Edberg | Steffi Graf |
| 1968 | Rod Laver | Billie Jean King | 1989 | Boris Becker | Steffi Graf |
| 1969 | Rod Laver | Anne Haydon | 1990 | Stefan Edberg | Martina Navratilova |
| 1970 | John Newcombe | Margaret Court | 1991 | Michael Stich | Steffi Graf |
| 1971 | John Newcombe | Evonne Goolagong | 1992 | Andre Agassi | Steffi Graf |
| 1972 | Stan Smith | Billie Jean King | 1993 | Pete Sampras | Steffi Graf |
| 1973 | Jan Kodes | Billie Jean King | 1994 | Pete Sampras | Conchita Martinez |
| 1974 | Jimmy Connors | Chris Evert | 1995 | Pete Sampras | Steffi Graf |
| 1975 | Arthur Ashe | Billie Jean King | 1996 | Richard Krajicek | Steffi Graf |
| 1976 | Bjorn Borg | Chris Evert | 1997 | Pete Sampras | Martina Hingis |
| 1977 | Bjorn Borg | Virginia Wade | 1998 | Pete Sampras | Jana Novotna |
| 1978 | Bjorn Borg | Martina Navratilova | 1999 | Pete Sampras | Lindsay Davenport |
| 1979 | Bjorn Borg | Martina Navratilova | 2000 | Pete Sampras | Venus Williams |
| 1980 | Bjorn Borg | Evonne Goolagong-Cawley | 2001 | Goran Ivanisevic | Venus Williams |
| 1981 | John McEnroe | Chris Evert-Lloyd | 2002 | Lleyton Hewitt | Serena Williams |
| 1982 | Jimmy Connors | Martina Navratilova | 2003 | Roger Federer | Serena Williams |
| 1983 | John McEnroe | Martina Navratilova | 2004 | Roger Federer | Maria Sharapova |
| 1984 | John McEnroe | Martina Navratilova | 2005 | Roger Federer | Venus Williams |
| 1985 | Boris Becker | Martina Navratilova | 2006 | Roger Federer | Amelie Mauresmo |
| 1986 | Boris Becker | Martina Navratilova | 2007 | Roger Federer | Venus Williams |
| 2008 | Rafael Nadal | Venus Williams | |||
| 2009 | Roger Federer | Serena Williams |
There are six players who have excelled on centre court in the open era – Billie Jean King, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Roger Federer.
Martina Navratilova holds the most singles titles, with nine. She is followed up by the indomitable Steffi Graf and Pete Sampras with seven apiece and then it is the turn of the unassailable Billie Jean King, who has claimed six singles crowns.
Several other players have claimed the coveted title more than once – Rod Laver, John Newcombe, the wayward Jimmy Connors and the decorous Stefan Edberg have lifted the ornate silver cup to the heavens on two occasions, whilst German, Boris Becker, the belligerent John McEnroe and Chris Evert have claimed the singles crown thrice. Venus Williams has also claimed the Rosewater Dish on five occasions.
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