Wimbledon is held each year in the last week of June and the first week of July. Wimbledon 2009 will be the 123rd tournament and will start on the 22nd of June with the men’s final scheduled for the 11th July. The defending singles champions are Spaniard Rafa Nadal and Venus Williams of the USA. Wimbledon is the only grass court grand slam tournament.
The First Championships
The first championships were held in 1877 to celebrate the addition of, ‘and Lawn Tennis’, to the name of the All England Croquet club. Men’s singles was the only event held that year as the ladies event wasn’t held until 1884.
There were twenty-two entrants in the first tournament, with the competition being played up to the semi finals on the Friday. The final was held on the following Monday to allow for the premier sporting event in London, the Eton v Harrow cricket match, to be played. When the day of the final arrived, it brought with it the traditional Wimbledon rain and the match was delayed. The inclement British summer weather has since become almost as much of a feature of Wimbledon as the tennis.
The British at Wimbledon
The turn of the century saw the Wimbledon attracting an increasingly international entry. This signalled a downturn in the fortunes of the home players which has never been reversed. Since the first overseas winner of the Men’s singles in 1907, only two British men have won Wimbledon. In a similar period, the ladies have fared slightly better, with five women winning the title, the most recent being Virginia Wade back in the centenary year of 1977.
Professionalism at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships
Tennis had always been an amateur sport, but in the 1950’s, the line between professional and amateur was becoming increasingly blurred as players were, ‘sponsored’, beyond International Tennis Federation guidelines.
In 1959 the All England Club, normally a bastion of traditionalism, saw the need for change and made several attempts to allow professionals to enter the tournament, including a unilateral attempt to make Wimbledon an Open event.
Eventually the ITF saw sense, but it was not until 1969 that the first Open Wimbledon Tennis Championships were held. The first Wimbledon Champions to receive prize money for winning were Rod Laver and Billy Jean King. It was not until 2007, however, that the men’s and ladies’ champions received equal prize money. The prize pool for the 2009 tournament is over £11.8m with the champions taking home in excess of £700,000.
Modern Wimbledon
The improvements and modernisations have not been restricted to the playing side. In 1993, a long term plan was unveiled which laid out a number of improvements to the SW19 complex. These included better broadcasting facilities, large screen viewing for spectators and a state of the art museum. The most important upgrade was to the Centre Court, home of the Championship finals. Due to be open in time for the 2009 Championships, the spectator capacity has been increased to 15,000 and a retractable roof will help to guarantee all weather play, a major problem in the tournament’s history.
Wimbledon Tickets
Wimbledon tickets can be obtained in a number of ways:
- A public ballot is held by the All England club. Applications have to be submitted between August and mid-December;
- A separate ballot for Wimbledon tickets is held for members of British Tennis;
- Wimbledon tennis tickets are available to members of affiliated tennis clubs and organisations;
- 6,000 ground and 500 Wimbledon show court tickets (not final four days) are reserved each day for queuing customers;
- Tickets for Wimbledon show courts are available through the purchase of a debenture;
- Official corporate hospitality packages.
