Strawberries & Cream

Every part of Wimbledon holds a history; how long has it been done for, who came up with it and why? These questions are even aimed at the long-standing tradition of the simple desert that strawberries & cream at Wimbledon. 

Wimbledon Facts

The first Wimbledon took place in 1877 solely as an amateur competition. Men's singles was the only event that took place. There were 22 competitors and the championship was won by Spencer Gore. A few hundred spectators were in attendance.

Women's singles and men's doubles events began seven years later, in 1884.

May Sutton of the United States became the first non-European champion in 1905 when she captured the women's singles title.

Charlotte (Lottie) Dod became the youngest player ever to win a Wimbledon singles event when, in 1887, she won at the age of 15 years, 285 days. In 1996 Martina Hingis became a Wimbledon doubles champion at 15 years, 282 days. And by the way, Dod was also a silver medalist in archery at the 1908 Olympics, a member of the British national field hockey team in 1899, and the British Amateur golf champ in 1904.

During World War II, a bomb ripped through Centre Court at the All England Club and 1,200 seats were lost. Fortunately, they weren't filled at the time. Play finally resumed in 1946 but it wasn't until 1949 that the area was back in top shape.

American Althea Gibson became the first black player to win a Wimbledon singles championship when she captured the title in 1957. She successfully defended her title a year later. She was named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in both years.

In 1985, Boris Becker accomplished three feats: he became the youngest male singles champ (17 years, 227 days old), the first German champ, and the first unseeded champ.

There are currently 20 grass courts available for play at the Wimbledon complex. The Number 1 Court now comes complete with large fans at either end to dry out the court in case of rain. There are also five red shale courts, four clay courts, and five indoor courts for club members.

The last married woman to win the women's singles championship was Chris Evert Lloyd in 1981.

A wooden racket was last used at Wimbledon in 1987.

The 2012 prize purse for the men's and women's singles winners is £1,150,000, an increase of £50,000 (4.5%) over 2011. In 1968, the year of the first "open" championships, the prize money was £2,000 for the male champion and £750 for the female champion.

Aside from cash, the women's champ also receives a silver gilt salver (a round, disk-like platter) that was made in 1864. The men's winner receives a silver gilt cup from 1887. Both are actually displayed at the Wimbledon museum for most of the year.

Keep your eyes on the ball! The records for fastest serve are Taylor Dent, clocked at 148 mph (2010) and Venus Williams with 129 mph (2008)

The top-selling item in the Wimbledon gift shop in 2010: 18,000 yellow mini tennis ball keyrings.

http://www.factmonster.com/spot/00wimbledon1.html 

The History Of Wimbledon

Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament running in the world, beginning in 1877. The traditional grass surface game is held in the 'All England Club' in Wimbledon, London. It presents competition in many categories, including Men's and Women's singles, Men's and Women's double, mixed doubles and juniors. The tournament is held over the course of two weeks typically in June, running into the beginning of July. 

The game of 'Lawn tennis' has a strict dress code for the players and traditions such as eating strawberries cream is something that is still long running. Wimbledon is also known as one of the only sporting events that does not allow advertising surrounding the courts. Spencer Gore, a British tennis player, was the first winner of Wimbledon back in 1877. There was roughly two hundred spectators and each of them paid one shilling to watch

The ball girls and boys are of an average age of 15 and are selected from schools of Merton, Sutton, kingston and Wandsworth since 1969. Before then only boys would have this job. Nowadays there are 125 boys and 125 girls, making 250 of them every year. Being selected to become a ball boy or girl is a very prestigious act. You have to be nominated by your head teacher and pass written and physical tennis tests. 

The dress code at Wimbledon is very strict. The players most wear all white but the primary colours of the club are green and purple. Green uniform was worn by the linesmen, chair umpires and ball boys and girls until 2005. However, from 2006 until the present day the uniform is now navy blue and cream designed by well-known American fashion designer Ralph lauren. The contract for this design will be presented until 2015. 

The centre court opened in 1922 when they event moved venues. Centre and number one court are only used for the two weeks for Wimbledon, the surrounding 17 courts are used for other events throughout out the year that the club hosts. In 2009, centre court had a retractable roof made so that play could not be disrupted when it rained or ran late. Centre court holds around 15,000 spectators and court one hold 11,000. 

Wimbledon Begins

This years wimbledon will take place from the 25 June - 8 July

As Wimbledon is coming up and with London hosting the 2012 Olympics in the following months, looking further into the history of a British sporting event is something that interests me.