The most popular, most renowned, and oldest Grand Slam Championship is here! Yes yes!
The Wimbledon is going to begin! It is due to be held from 1 July to 14th July 2019.
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic and German player Angelique Kerber are the defending champions in the men’s and women’s singles category.
What is the Wimbledon Championship?
First played in 1877, the Wimbledon is one of the four tennis Grand Slam tournaments. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it is also the most prestigious one.
The Wimbledon is conducted by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), which was founded on 23 July 1868 and was known as The All England Croquet Club. Its name was changed in 1877 to The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club and in 1899 to The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
It is the only major that is played on grass courts.
Also, Wimbledon is pretty strict about the dress codes for players. The rules state that the players be dressed almost entirely in white.
The prize money for the Championships in 2019 is 2,350,000 pounds for the singles winners.
History of the Wimbledon
The inaugural Wimbledon Championship was held in 1877 in front of an audience of 200. Spencer Gore was the first champion.
The ladies singles championship was first introduced in 1884 and the first ever ladies championship winner was Maud Watson. Interestingly, she beat her sister Lilian to win the title.
American May Sutton was the first overseas winner of the title when she won the ladies singles championship in 1905.
The first television broadcast of the championship occurred in 1937.
The Wimbledon was not held from 1939 to 1945 due to the World War. It resumed
Althea Gibson was the first black winner of the Wimbledon when she won the title in 1957.
In 1977, the championship completed 100 years of its existence. To mark this occasion, the Wimbledon Museum and its associated Lord Ritchie library were inaugurated.
In 1988, tennis legend Steffi Graf won her maiden Wimbledon title as a mere teenager.
In 1997, Swiss tennis legend Martina Hingis became the youngest player to win the Wimbledon singles title since 1887 when she became the women’s singles champion at 16.
In 2003, Martina Navratilova won her 20th Wimbledon title when she won the mixed doubles title alongside partner Leander Paes of India. Remarkably, this win was 25 years after she had won her first singles title at Wimbledon.
2007 was the first year when both the men’s and the women’s singles champions were awarded equal prize money.
Facts and trivia about Wimbledon
- Spencer Gore from England was the first ever champion of the Wimbledon.
- Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer is the most successful men’s singles winner – he has won a total of 8 titles (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2017). He also holds the record for winning the most consecutive men’s singles title in the open era.
- Martina Navratilova holds the record for the most successful women’s singles titles – she has won a total of 9 titles.
- Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King hold the joint record for winning the most number of Wimbledon championships ever. They have won a total of 20 Wimbledon titles that include singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles.
Whom are you rooting for this Wimbledon? Do you think Roger Federer will win his ninth title this year?
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