Wimbledon – Short History

Foundation

‘The All England Croquet Club’ was private Club founded in 1868 in Wimbledon and this club is responsible for the foundation of the world’s oldest and the most famous tennis tournament – The Championships, Wimbledon.

Lawn tennis was the game which was first added to this club’s activities in 1875, and according to that club changed the name to ‘The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club’. Lawn tennis soon was the only activity of the club, and already in 1882 word “croquet” was removed from club’s official name, but for sentimental reasons club restored the old name in 1899. Since then, the club is well known all over the world as ‘The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club’.

The first event held on Wimbledon was the Gentlemen’s single in 1877, which was won by Spencer Gore. Soon after that, in 1884, Ladies’ Singles and Gentlemen’s Doubles were introduced to The Championships.

Brothers Dominance

The early era of Wimbledon was dominated by brothers. Renshaw brothers, Ernest and William, and these two gentlemen won 13 titles in period between 1881 and 1889. Doherty brothers, Laurie and Reggie, came on scene 8 years later, and 10 years period between 1897 and 1907 was dominated by these two gentlemen.

Foreign Players

Since the beginning of 20th century, Wimbledon is international tournament. The first player outside Great Britain who won The Championships was May Sutton from the USA, who won the Ladies’ Singles in 1905, while the first gentleman outside the UK who won the Wimbledon was Australian Norman Brooks.

Since Wimbledon became international tournament, players from Great Britain were struggling to win the Championships. The period between 1934 and 1937 were a golden era for UK players though, and during these 3 years UK players won a total of 11 titles. Fred Perry managed to win three and Dorothy Round managed to win two trophies.

100 Years Anniversary

The Championships celebrated their first centenary in 1977. On that occasion all singles champions received silver medals and were honored by the presence of The Queen.

Modern Era Records

1980 – Bjorn Borg became the first player to win the Gentlemen’s Singles five times
1985 – Boris Becker became the youngest player, the first unseeded player and the first German to win the Gentlemen’s Singles with only 17 years.
1987 – Martina Navratilova became the first player to win the Ladies’ Singles six times in succession
1990 – Martina Navratilova made all-time record of nine victories.
2000 – Pete Sampras registered his seventh win.
2001 – Goran Ivanisevic became the first wildcard to win the Gentlemen’s Singles.

To find out more about The Championships, visit Official Wimbledon Website