The Championships, Wimbledon is an annual tennis tournament created in 1877 and played on outdoor grass courts[a][1] at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) in the Wimbledon suburb of London, United Kingdom.[2] The Gentlemen's Singles was the first event contested in 1877.[3] Wimbledon is played in the last week of June and the first week of July, and has been chronologically the third of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the tennis season since 1987.[2] The event was not held from 1915 to 1918 because of World War I and again from 1940 to 1945 because of World War II.[4]
The Gentlemen's Singles' rules have undergone several changes since the first edition. From 1878 until 1921, the event started with a knockout phase, the All Comers' Singles, whose winner then faced the defending champion in a challenge round. The All Comers' winner was automatically awarded the title six times (1879, 1887, 1891, 1895, 1907, 1908) in the absence of the previous year's champion. The challenge round system was abolished with the 1922 edition.[5] Since the first championships, all matches have been played at the best-of-five sets. Between 1877 and 1883, the winner of the next game at five games – all took the set in every match except the All Comers' final, and the challenge round, which were won with six games and a two games advantage. All sets were decided in this advantage format from 1884 to 1970.[5] The lingering death best-of-12 points tie-break was introduced in 1971 for the first four sets, played at eight games – all until 1978 and at six games – all since 1979.[5][6][7]
Since 1949, the Gentlemen's Singles champion has received a miniature replica of the event's trophy, a silver-gilt cup created in 1887 with the engraved inscription: "The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World".[8] New singles champions are traditionally elected honorary members of the AELTC by the club's committee.[b][9] In 2009, the Gentlemen's Singles winner received prize money of £850,000.[10]
William Renshaw (winner, 1881–1886, 1889) and Pete Sampras (winner, 1993–1995, 1997–2000) hold the all-time record for most titles in the Gentlemen's Singles, with seven victories each. Six of Renshaw's wins, however, came within the challenge round format, and he won the event only twice after going through a complete draw. Renshaw also holds the all-time record for most consecutive titles with six from 1881 to 1886. Without the challenge round, the record stands at five, and is co-held by Björn Borg (1976–1980) and Roger Federer (2003–2007).[4]
Champions
editRegular competition |
All Comers' winner, Challenge round winner ‡ |
Defending champion, Challenge round winner † |
All Comers' winner, no Challenge round ◊ |
No competition • |
Statistical information
editMultiple champions
editTitle defended in the challenge round |
Active player + |
Champions by country
editFormer country ¤ |
Player | Amateur Era | Open Era | All-time | First title | Last title |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom (UK)[d][k] | 35 | 0 | 35 | 1877 | 1936 |
United States (USA) | 18 | 15 | 33 | 1920 | 2000 |
Australia (AUS) | 15 | 6 | 21 | 1907 | 2002 |
France (FRA) | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1924 | 1946 |
Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1976 | 1990 |
Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2003 | 2009 |
Germany (GER)[l] | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1985 | 1991 |
New Zealand (NZL) | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1910 | 1913 |
Spain (ESP) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1966 | 2008 |
Croatia (CRO) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2001 | 2001 |
Czechoslovakia (TCH) ¤[m] | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1973 | 1973 |
Egypt (EGY) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1954 | 1954 |
Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1996 | 1996 |
Notes
edit- a Since 2009, Centre Court features a retractable roof, allowing indoor and night-time play.[13]
- b John McEnroe is the only player to have been denied membership in 1981, because of his on-court behaviour during the championships.[14][15]
- c Each year is linked to an article about that particular event's draw.
- d "British Isles" (BRI) is used for players from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922), distinct from "Great Britain" (GBR) used for players from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1922–present).[4][16]
- e Anthony Wilding won the challenge round after Herbert Barrett retired because of fatigue.[17]
- f The tournament was not held from 1915 to 1918 because of World War I.[4]
- g Sidney Wood won the final by walkover after Frank Shields withdrew because of an ankle injury.[18]
- h The tournament was not held from 1940 to 1945 because of World War II.[4]
- i Although he was still a Peruvian citizen, Alex Olmedo was recorded by the AELTC as an American competitor for the 1959 Wimbledon Championships.[4][19]
- j Wimbledon entered the Open Era with the 1968 edition, allowing professional players to compete alongside amateurs.[3]
- k Thirty-two wins by players from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922), plus three wins by players from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1922–present).[4][16]
- l Three wins by players from West Germany (FRG, 1949–1990), plus one win by a player from Germany (GER, 1990–present).
- m Czechoslovakia (TCH, 1918–1992), evolved into Czech Republic (CZE, 1992–present) and Slovakia (SVK, 1992–present).
References
edit- General
- "Men's Singles Finals". wimbledon.org. IBM, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- "Grand Slam Tournaments - Wimbledon" (PDF). usta.com. United States Tennis Association. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
- "Wimbledon-List of Wimbledon men's singles champions". ESPN.com. Reuters. 2009-07-05. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- Specific
- ^ "FAQ - Grass Courts" (PDF). wimbledon.org. IBM, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ a b "Tournament profile - Wimbledon". atpworldtour.com. Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- ^ a b "About Wimbledon - History: History". wimbledon.org. IBM, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Men's Singles Finals". wimbledon.org. IBM, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ a b c Barrett, John (1986). 100 Wimbledon Championships: A Celebration. Collins Willow. ISBN 978-0-00218-220-1.
- ^ Roberts, John (1998-08-05). "Tennis: Fast, fan friendly - but full of faults". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ "Breaking with tradition". The Age. The Age Company Ltd. 2004-01-25. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^ "About Wimbledon - History: The trophies". wimbledon.org. IBM, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ "About Wimbledon - Behind the scenes: The All England Lawn Tennis Club". wimbledon.org. IBM, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ "2009 Prize Money" (PDF). wimbledon.org. IBM, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ "A Centre Court Celebration - The history of Centre Court". wimbledon.org. IBM, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
- ^ "Nadal outlasts Federer in epic final to halt streak at five". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 2008-97-06. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Harman, Neil (2009-04-22). "No more soaked strawberries - Centre Court, Wimbledon, gets a roof". The Times. Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
- ^ "Jolly snub for McEnroe; he's refused All-England". St. Petersburg Times. United Press International. 1981-07-10. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^ Zenilman, Avi (2009-06-24). "Back Issues: McEnroe vs. Thatcher". The New Yorker. Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^ a b "History - Rolls of Honour: Country abbreviations". wimbledon.org. IBM, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ Myers, Arthur Wallis (1916). Captain Anthony Wilding. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0548886885.
- ^ Henderson, Jon (2009-01-15). "Sidney Wood - First and only player to win Wimbledon on a walkover". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
- ^ "Art Ashe, Graebner in Wimbledon Semis". The Spokesman-Review. 1968-07-03. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
External links
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