History of Wimbledon

Wimbledon History - Part 1

The most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event not to have a fixed date, commencing six weeks before the first Monday in August.

The tournament lasts for a fortnight, or for as long as necessary to complete all events.

Today, Wimbledon boasts the most talented players in the world and annual attendances of over 450,000 people.

But it is not just the calibre of players which makes the Wimbledon Championships so special, but also their rich history. For a professional tennis player, winning Wimbledon is the pinnacle of any career.

The first Wimbledon event was staged in 1877 by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, to raise money for a new roller. The competition had only 22 male participants.

It wasn't until 1884 that the Ladies' Singles and Men's Doubles was introduced.

The game's first superstars were British twins Ernest and William Renshaw. Together the "Renshaw Rush", either separately or as Doubles partners, won 13 titles between 1881 and 1889.

The event achieved global status in 1905, when May Sutton of the United States became the first overseas winner, claiming the Ladies' Singles title.

Two years later, Norman Brookes of Australia became the first Men's Singles champion from overseas.

Brookes' win would change Wimbledon forever. Only two other British men would win the championship again - Arthur Gore and Fred Perry.

The ever-increasing international appeal of Wimbledon enabled it to thrive during the 1920s.

Britain's 35-year domination of the Ladies' Singles ended in 1919 with the emergence of Suzanne Lenglen of France.

France went on to dominate the championship that decade, producing at least one Singles champions each year during the '20s.

The French quartet known as the 'Four Musketeers' - Rene Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Jacques Brugnon - ruled the roost.

Only American Bill Tilden broke their stranglehold. After setting Wimbledon alight in 1920, his efforts flowed over into the next decade with a title win in 1930 at the age of 38.

Between the wars

The '30s was the golden era for British tennis, with Fred Perry and Dorothy Round dominating the game.

But Donald Budge and Helen Wills Moody helped the United States emerge as the ascending nation in world tennis leading up to World War II.

The new ground at Church Road, which was purchased in 1922, was used during the war for civil defence and military functions, such as fire and ambulance services, Home Guard and a decontamination unit.

Amazingly 1200 seats on Centre Court were destroyed by a bomb during the war, but fans and players dug deep once again to rebuild the club and play resumed in 1949 with the grounds completely restored.