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Wimbledon 2006 Grand Slam Tennis Championship | Tennis Wagering

History of Wimbledon

The Beginning of Wimbledon

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which is responsible for staging the world's leading tennis tournament, is a private Club founded in 1868, originally as 'The All England Croquet Club' and its first ground was situated off Worple Road, Wimbledon. In 1875 lawn tennis, a game introduced by major Walter Clpton Wingfield year or so earlier and originally called 'Sphairistike', was added to the activities of the Club. In the spring of 1877 the Club was re-titled 'The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club' and signalled its change of name by instituting the first Lawn Tennis Championship. A new code of laws, hitherto administered by the M.C.C. was drawn up for the meeting. These have stood the test of time and today's rules are similar except for details such as the height of the net and posts and the distance of the service line from the net. The only event held in 1877 was the Gentlemen's Singles which was won by Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player, from a field of 22. About 200 spectators paid one shilling to watch the final. The lawns at the Ground were arranged in such a way that the principal court was situated in the middle with the others arranged around it; hence the title 'Centre Court', which was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, although not a true description of its location. However, in 1980- four new courts were brought into commission on the north side of the ground, which meant the Centre Court was once more correctly defined. The opening on the new No.1 Court in 1997 emphasised the description. By 1882 activity at the Club was almost exclusively confined to lawn tennis and that year the word 'croquet' was dropped from the title. However, for sentimental reasons, it was restored in 1899 and since then the title has remained 'The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club'.

Enter the Ladies

In 1884 the Ladies' Singles was inaugurated and from an entry of 13 players, Maud Watson became the champion. That same year, the Gentlemen's Doubles was started, the trophy being donated to the Club by Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club upon cessation of their doubles championship, played from 1879 to 1883. As the popularity of Wimbledon increased, the facilities for spectators were suitably improved. Permanent stands gradually took the place of temporary accommodation as by the mid-1880s crowds flocked to see the prowess of British twins, Ernest and William Renshaw, who separately and as doubles partners won 13 titles between 1881 and 1889. The boom in popularity of the game in this period became known as the 'Renshaw Rush'. For a period in the nineties public affection for Wimbledon waned, but in 1897 the legendary Doherty brothers, Laurie and Reggie, began their ten-year rule of the courts and soon capacity crowds reappeared.

Overseas Champions

By the turn of the century, Wimbledon had assumed an international character and in 1905, May Sutton of the United States became the first Champion from overseas when she won the Ladies' Singles. She repeated her success in 1907, the year when Norman Brookes of Australia became the first Gentlemen's Singles champion from overseas. Since that year, only two players from Great Britain, Arthur Gore and Fred Perry, have managed to win the Men's Singles (there have been five British Ladies' Champions since Wimbledon moved to Church Road - Kitty McKane Godfree, Dorothy Round, Angela Mortimer, Ann Jones and Virginia Wade). Anthony Wilding of New Zealand became champion from 1910-1913 and as the war clouds gathered over Europe, Norman Brookes regained the title.

A New Home

Prior to the First World War the facilities at Worple Road were expanded to meet the ever growing demand of the public and a move to larger premises was planned. This was not achieved until 1922 when the present ground in Church Road was opened by King George V. The foresight of building the present stadium , designed to hold 14,000 people, did more to popularise the game worldwide than anything that has happened to date. The new ground, which many thought would turn out to be a 'white elephant' was financed partly from the accumulated reserves of the Club and partly by the issue of Debentures. Misgivings about the future popularity of The Championships were soon dispelled and applications for tickets in the first year were such that they had to be issued by a ballot - a system that has been adopted for every Championship since. The move to Church Road coincided with a break in tradition, whereby the Challenge Round was abolished in favour of the holder playing through each round.

A New Home

Prior to the First World War the facilities at Worple Road were expanded to meet the ever growing demand of the public and a move to larger premises was planned. This was not achieved until 1922 when the present ground in Church Road was opened by King George V. The foresight of building the present stadium , designed to hold 14,000 people, did more to popularise the game worldwide than anything that has happened to date. The new ground, which many thought would turn out to be a 'white elephant' was financed partly from the accumulated reserves of the Club and partly by the issue of Debentures. Misgivings about the future popularity of The Championships were soon dispelled and applications for tickets in the first year were such that they had to be issued by a ballot - a system that has been adopted for every Championship since. The move to Church Road coincided with a break in tradition, whereby the Challenge Round was abolished in favour of the holder playing through each round.

Wimbledon Thrives

Each year during the twenties, France produced at least one singles champion. Towards the end of Suzanne Lenglen's reign the famous 'Four Musketeers', Jean Borota, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet and Rene Lacoste, appeared on the scene and during the next ten years won six titles and five doubles titles between them. Britain's Kitty McKane (Godfree) won the Ladies' Singles in 1924 and 1926 and a year later Helen Wills of the United States stated her conquest. Wimbledon continued to thrive in the thirties. Bill Tilden returned at the age of 38 to gain his third crown and in 1931 Cilly Assem registered Germany's first win in the Ladies' Singles. The following year over 200,000 spectators were present for the first time. The years from 1934 to 1937 were a golden era for British tennis, when a total of 11 titles were captured, including three singles in succession by Fred Perry and two by Dorothy Round. During the same period Great Britain successfully defended the Davis Cup three times in Challenge Rounds staged on the Centre Court. The years just before the Second World War belonged to the United States. Donald Budge won all three events in 1937 and 1938, Helen Wills Moody captured the Ladies' Singles for the eight time and Alice Marble brought a new dimension to ladies' tennis with her serve and volley game.

Open Tennis

The expansion of air travel in the 1950s meant more and more overseas players were competing at Wimbledon and other tournaments throughout the world, but with this new era came an epidemic of what had become known as "shamateurism" - the receiving of financial assistance in excess of amounts permitted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the authority in charge of the rules of lawn tennis and the governing body of the game worldwide. The need for reform was evident. The initiative for reform came from the then Chairman, Herman David, who in late 1959 put forward a proposal to the Lawn Tennis Association that The Championships be made open to all players. The following July the ITF rejected this move and several years followed in which argument persisted at all levels of the game. In 1964 the Club tried to persuade the LTA unilaterally to declare The Championships 'open' but support was not forthcoming. In August 1967 an invitation tournament (sponsored by the BBC to mark the introduction of colour television) was held on the Centre Court with eight players taking part - all professionals. Most of these players had won honours at Wimbledon in their amateur days but had forfeited the right to play there on turning professional. The segregation of the two categories was soon to come to an end. In December that year the Annual Meeting of the LTA voted overwhelmingly to admit players of all categories to Wimbledon and other tournaments in Britain. Faced with a fait accompli the ITF yielded and allowed each nation to determine its own legislation regarding amateur and professional players. In 1968, Rod Laver and Billie Jean King became the first Wimbledon Open Champions. The total prize money that year was £26,150.

Records Broken

In recent years long standing records have been broken. In 1980 Bjorn Borg of Sweden became the first player to win the Gentlemen's Singles five times in succession since the 1880s. In 1985 Boris Becker became the youngest player, the first unseeded player and the first German to win the Gentlemen's Singles. In 1987 Martina Navratilova of the United States became the first player to win the Ladies' Singles six times in succession and in 1990 attained the all-time record of nine victories in the event. Pete Sampras of the United States registered his seventh win in 2000. In 2001, Goran Ivanisevic became the first wildcard to win the Gentlemen's Singles.

Anniversary Celebrations

In 1977, The Championships celebrated their centenary. On the opening day forty-one out of fifty two surviving singles champions paraded on the Centre Court and each received a silver commemorative medal from HRH The Duke of Kent, the President of the Club, to mark the occasion. On the second Friday, The Championships were honoured by the presence of HM The Queen, who presented the Ladies' Singles trophy to Virginia Wade on the Centre Court, together with a special trophy to mark Her Majesty's Silver Jubilee. As part of the celebrations the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum and the Kenneth Ritchie Library were opened. The centenary of the Ladies' Singles Championship was celebrated in 1984. The highlight of The Championships was the parade on the Centre Court of 17 out of 20 surviving champions, who each received a unique piece of Waterford Crystal from HRH The Duke of Kent. The 100th Championships in 1986 were celebrated in a variety of ways, including a special Dinner Party for those who had made significant contributions over the years, and the formation of the Last 8 Club. 1993 marked the 100th Ladies' Championships and the occasion was suitably commemorated. The occasion of the Millennium was celebrated on the first Saturday when 64 Singles Champions, Doubles Champions four or more times, and Singles Finalists at least twice, paraded on Centre Court.

Wimbledon into the 21st Century

Wimbledon is acknowledge to be the premier tennis tournament in the world and the priority of The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which hosts The Championships, is to maintain its leadership into the twenty first century. To that end a Long Term Plan was unveiled in 1993, which will improve the quality of the event for spectators, players, official and neighbours. Stage one of the Plan was completed for the 1997 Championships and involved building in Aorangi Park the new No.1 Court, a Broadcast Centre, two extra grass courts and a tunnel under the hill linking Church Road and Somerset Road. Stage two involved the removal of the old No.1 Court complex to make way for the new Millennium Building, providing extensive facilities for the players, press, officials and Members, and the extension of the West Stand of the Centre Court with 728 extra seats. Stage three continues. The construction of a new Championships entrance building, housing Club staff, museum, bank and ticket office at Gate 3 will leave the Centre Court east side empty and allow development to provide better facitilies for the public, increase the seating capacity from 13,800 to 15,000 and erect a retractable roof.

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