Wimbledon Tennis Tournament

History
Wimbledon today is one of the biggest sporting events of the world of lawn tennis. This is also the oldest and definitely the most prestigious event in the sport of lawn tennis. This international tennis championship had quite a humble beginning though.  It started in 1877 in a garden party atmosphere with only a few hundred spectators. Under the control of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the first tournament was played at a ground near Worple Road, Wimbledon.
The only event held was the Gentleman’s Singles. In 1884, the All England Club added Ladies' Singles and Gentlemen's Doubles. Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles were added in 1913. The Championships moved to their present location, at a ground near Church Road, in 1922. Presently, Wimbledon attracts a crowd of over 500,000 people and millions worldwide attend to this sporting event through televisions, radio, internet and other media. Players from more than 60 nations take part in the Wimbledon Tennis Tournaments.


Wimbledon Schedule

Each year, the tournament begins on the Monday falling between 20 and 26 June - six weeks before the first Monday in August. It is held after the Queen's Club Championships and the Gerry Weber Open, which are considered the major warm-up for Wimbledon for male players. Wimbledon usually lasts for two weeks; the main events span both weeks, but the junior and invitational events are for the most part held during the second week.
The Championships are run by a Committee consisting of 12 AELTC members and 7 nominees from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). The Championships start six weeks before the first Monday in August and last approximately a fortnight, until all events are complete. The Championship events include:

  1. Gentlemen's Singles (128 draw)
  2. Ladies' Singles (128 draw)
  3. Gentlemen's Doubles (64 draw)
  4. Ladies' Doubles (64 draw)
  5. Mixed Doubles (48 draw)
  6. Boys' Singles (64 draw)
  7. Boys' Doubles (32 draw)
  8. Girls' Singles (64 draw)
  9. Girls' Doubles (32 draw)
  10. 35 and over Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles
    (16 pairs Round Robin)
  11. 45 and over Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles (12 pairs)
  12. 35 and over Ladies' Invitation Doubles
    (8 pairs Round Robin)
  13. Gentlemen's Wheelchair Doubles
    (4 pairs)

A total of 128 players feature in each singles event, 64 pairs in each single-sex doubles event, and 48 pairs in Mixed Doubles. Players and doubles pairs are admitted to the main events on the basis of their international rankings, with consideration also given to their previous performances at grass court events. Currently 32 male and female players are given seedings in the Gentlemen's and Ladies' singles while 16 teams are seeded in the doubles events. The nineteen courts used for Wimbledon are all composed purely of rye grass. The speed and the low bounce of grass courts favors serve and volley players like Rod Laver, McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras and others. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event played on grass courts. Dark green and purple are the traditional Wimbledon colours. Green apparel was worn by the chair umpire, linesmen, ball boys and ball girls through the 2005 Championships; however, beginning with the 2006 Championships, officials, ball boys and ball girls were outfitted in new navy blue and cream colored uniforms from American designer Ralph Lauren. This is the first time in the history of the Wimbledon Championships that an outside company was used to design Wimbledon apparel.

For more information on Wimbledon, matches and tickets, please visit http://www.wimbledon.org