Hear Ye, Hear Ye… Tennis players from around the land… The Championships have begun.
What’s the big deal?
This is Wimbledon, arguably the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. This year it the tournament will be played between July 3rd and July 16th. This is the 131st edition of the Championships. Andy Murray (Great Britain) is the defending Gentlemen’s Singles Champion and Serena Williams (USA) is the defending Ladies Champion.
The Championships, Wimbledon, The Wimbledon Championships or simply Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and widely considered the most prestigious.
It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments (Majors), the others being the Australian Open, French Open (Roland Garros) and US Open. Wimbledon is the only Major still played on grass, the game’s original surface, which gave the game its original name of “lawn tennis”.
- All white clothing for the players
- No playing on the middle Sunday
- Strawberries and Cream are offered as the typical stand food. Each year, tennis fans at Wimbledon consume more than 28,000kg (62,000lbs) of strawberries and 7,000 litres (1,850 gallons) of cream.
- At Wimbledon, the ball boys and girls are known as BBGs and 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.”
- Wimbledon does not have any sponsor advertising around its courts.
Fun Facts
Since 2001 the courts used for Wimbledon have been sown with 100% perennial ryegrass.
Most Wimbledon Singles titles are held by Martina Navratilova with 9, followed by Pete Sampras and Roger Federer with 7 each.
This is the only Grand Slam which is patronised by a Royal Family. The Queen of Britain often visits Wimbledon and meets the players.
Based on the natural shake of the hips that many players make as they prepare to receive a serve, the Wimbledon Wiggle is demonstrated in the video below (might not be available in your viewing area or for your device):