Wimbledon

Wimbledon is the oldest major tennis tournament in the world, and part of the Grand Slam – the 4 biggest tournaments in the tennis calendar, along with the US Open, French Open and Australian Open. This year’s competition, the 124th in its history, runs from the 21st June until the 4th July.

The first ever ‘Lawn Tennis Championship’ - as it was then known - was held by ‘The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club’ in 1877, the only competition being the Men’s Singles event. Ladies’ Singles and Men’s Doubles were introduced in 1884, and finally Ladies’ and Mixed Doubles in 1913. The organisation that runs Wimbledon is still called ‘The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club’, and it is the only Grand Slam tournament to be played on grass.

The history of tennis can be split into two parts; before and after the start of the ‘open era’ in 1968, which allowed professional tennis players to compete in all tournaments. Previously, all major tournaments were ‘amateur only’. In contrast to the amateur roots of the sport, top tennis players today can earn millions through tournament prizes as well as lucrative sponsorship deals, and can become global superstars at the same level as some top footballers.

The modern standards in the game are no more obvious than at Wimbledon’s Centre Court, the venue for all of the biggest games in the competition. Since last year’s competition, a retractable roof has been installed which allows games to be played in full sunshine in good weather, while providing cover which allows matches to continue in the event of rain.

The record holder for the most Men’s Singles titles in the open era of Wimbledon is American Pete Sampras, who won 7 finals between 1993 and 2000. Martina Navrátilová holds the record for Ladies’ titles with 9 victories between 1978 and 1990. The favourite for this year’s Men’s event is sure to be Roger Federer, the Swiss having won the previous 6 finals and looking to match Sampras’ record this year. As in the past, the favourites for the Ladies’ event are likely to be Venus and Serena Williams, the pair having won the title 7 times between them since 2000. Other highly ranked players are Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray in the Men’s competition, and Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic in the Ladies’.

Despite the tournament being held in the UK, British players have rarely achieved success – the last British Men’s Singles champion was Fred Perry, who was from Stockport, a few miles from NCC Education’s head office.

The favourites are not always guaranteed victory however; Goran Ivanisevic, who before the 2001 tournament was ranked 125th in world, went on to beat several top players and surprisingly win the tournament, defeating Australian Patrick Rafter in the final.

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