60 Fun Facts About Wimbledon

Wimbledon is the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments still played on which surface?

The US Open gave it up in 1975 and the Australian Open in 1988; Wimbledon's courts have been sown with a single hardy variety since 2001.

In what year was the first Wimbledon Championship held?

Twenty-two men paid a guinea each to enter, and rain pushed the final back four days.

Which food is traditionally eaten by spectators at Wimbledon?

In 2019 the tournament served 191,930 portions; the custom is said to trace back to a dessert served to Henry VIII at Hampton Court.

What colour must players' clothing be at Wimbledon?

The rule dates from 1963; since 2023 women may wear dark undershorts, a change prompted by players' concerns about periods.

Which firm has supplied every Wimbledon ball since 1902, the longest sponsorship in sport?

The balls are made in the Philippines and were switched from white to yellow in 1986 to show up better on colour television.

Which two colours are Wimbledon's traditional club colours?

Officials and ball kids wore green until 2005, when Ralph Lauren redesigned their uniforms in navy and cream.

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that has a night-time curfew. Play must stop by what time?

Merton Council imposed the limit as a planning condition when the Centre Court roof was approved, to protect local residents.

In which year did Centre Court get its retractable roof?

It takes about 20 minutes to close; the first full match played under it was a Briton against Stan Wawrinka.

What is the official name of the Wimbledon bank better known as Henman Hill?

It has also been called Rusedski Ridge and Murray Mound, but none of the nicknames is official.

Which two grass-court events does Wimbledon follow, two weeks later, in the calendar?

Since 2015 the gap between the French Open and Wimbledon has been three weeks instead of two, lengthening the season on the fast surface.

Which Wimbledon day was traditionally a rest day with no scheduled play until 2022?

Rain forced play on it in 1991, 1997, 2004 and 2016; the 1991 'People's Sunday' sold cheap unreserved seats on the show courts.

Which player, then ranked 125th, is the only man to win the Wimbledon singles title as a wild card?

He beat Pat Rafter in a Monday final in 2001 after three earlier lost finals; the crowd was let in on a first-come basis and it felt like a football match.

Who is the youngest man ever to win the Wimbledon singles title?

He was 17 years, 7 months and 15 days old in 1985, unseeded, and the first German to win it.

Which woman holds the all-time record with nine Wimbledon singles titles?

She reached the final twelve times, including nine years in a row from 1982 to 1990.

Which man had won a record eight Wimbledon singles titles by the end of 2025?

Sampras and Djokovic had seven each at that point; the record-holder's final title came in 2017 without dropping a set.

Whose 2013 victory made him the first British man to win the Wimbledon singles since Fred Perry in 1936?

He beat Djokovic in straight sets in 30-degree heat, ending a 77-year wait, and won it again in 2016.

Who was the last British woman to win the Wimbledon singles, in the centenary year of 1977?

Elizabeth II, in her Silver Jubilee year, attended the final for the first time since 1962 and presented the trophy.

Which player holds the record of 20 Wimbledon titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles?

Six singles, ten women's doubles and four mixed; Navratilova later equalled the 20 but not with the same mix.

How many consecutive Wimbledon singles titles did Björn Borg win before retiring at 25?

His 1980 final against John McEnroe, with its 18-16 fourth-set tiebreak, is still cited as one of the greatest matches ever played.

Pete Sampras won his seven Wimbledon titles within how many years?

The only interruption between 1993 and 2000 was Richard Krajicek's 1996 win, in a year Sampras lost to him in the quarter-finals; Federer later passed his tally.

Which amateur-era champion won Wimbledon seven times, six of them in a row, in the 1880s?

Until 1922 the champion only had to play the final, waiting for a challenger, which made long streaks far easier.

Who won the first-ever Wimbledon final in 1877, beating William Marshall in 48 minutes?

About 200 spectators paid a shilling each; Gore, a rackets player, later said he doubted lawn tennis would ever catch on.

Who was the first Black man to win the Wimbledon singles title, in 1975?

He upset the heavily favoured Jimmy Connors and remains the only Black man to have won singles at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open.

Which American, among the first Black Wimbledon competitors in 1951, won the title in 1957 and 1958?

The first Black man to play there had been the Jamaican amateur Bertrand Clark, back in 1924.

Fred Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon singles titles ending in which year?

Britain then waited 77 years for another men's champion, and Perry's statue at the club marks his 1984 centenary.

Who in 2023 became the first unseeded woman to win the Wimbledon singles title?

She was ranked 42nd; the previous lowest-ranked champion was Venus Williams as the 23rd seed in 2007.

The longest match in tennis history, at Wimbledon in 2010, ended with what fifth-set score?

John Isner beat Nicolas Mahut over 11 hours and 5 minutes across three days; a plaque on the outside court marks the spot.

Where on the grounds was the 11-hour Isner-Mahut marathon played?

The scoreboard, not designed for such numbers, froze at 47-47 and had to be reset.

Since 2022, what happens when the final set of a Wimbledon match reaches 6-6?

Isner and Mahut's marathon prompted the first change in 2018, a tiebreak at 12-12; all four Slams then agreed on the 10-point version.

What is the ladies' singles trophy at Wimbledon called?

It is a sterling silver salver decorated with mythological figures; the champion takes home a three-quarter-size replica.

Which small gold fruit sits on top of the gentlemen's singles trophy?

Nobody knows for certain why; one theory is that pineapples were a symbol of hospitality and wealth in the 1880s.

In what year was prize money first awarded at Wimbledon, when professionals were admitted?

Rod Laver's cheque was £2,000 and Billie Jean King's £750; equal prize money did not arrive until 2007.

Wimbledon and which other Grand Slam were the last to pay men and women equally, in 2007?

The US Open had paid equally since 1973 after its women's champion threatened a boycott.

Wimbledon was cancelled in 2020 for the first time since which event?

A pandemic insurance policy taken out after SARS in 2003 paid the club roughly £114 million.

What hit Centre Court on 11 October 1940?

It destroyed 1,200 seats; the 1946 tournament went ahead with the damaged corner still unrepaired.

Which political movement was behind a 1913 attempt to set fire to the Wimbledon grounds?

A woman was caught climbing a hedge at midnight with paraffin and wood shavings, refused to give her name, and got two months in prison.

Wimbledon left its original ground beside the railway line in 1922. Where is its current home?

The move cost about £140,000 and was seen as a financial gamble; the old ground is now a school playing field.

Roughly how many spectators does Centre Court hold?

The exact figure is 14,979; No. 1 Court holds 12,345 since its own roof was added in 2019.

Which show court, since renamed, was nicknamed the 'Graveyard of Champions'?

McEnroe, Becker, Agassi, Sampras, Hingis and both Williams sisters all lost early-round matches there.

Wimbledon's grass courts have been sown with 100 percent of which grass since 2001?

Before that the mix was 70 percent ryegrass and 30 percent fescue; the change was made to survive the modern game's wear.

Since 1969, Wimbledon's ball boys and girls have been drawn from where?

Around 250 are needed, aged about 15; each is paid roughly £17 a day and keeps their kit and a can of used balls.

Wimbledon ball girls debuted in 1977. In which year did they first appear on Centre Court?

Places are now split exactly 50:50 between boys and girls.

What replaced Wimbledon's human line judges entirely from the 2025 Championships?

It ended 147 years of line umpires; the chair umpire remains, plus new 'match assistants' to escort players off court.

Since 2003, players entering Centre Court bow to the Royal Box only if who is present?

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, ended the general bow when he was club president; Federer was asked to bow for Prince Charles in 2012.

On 1 July 1967, Wimbledon featured in which piece of British broadcasting history?

BBC Two showed four hours of live coverage; the balls stayed white for another 19 years.

Which fruit-squash brand sponsored Wimbledon from 1935 to 2021?

The green bottles sat beneath the umpire's chair for 86 years, one of the longest sponsorships in any sport.

Which two Grand Slams let fans without tickets queue on the day for show-court seats?

Wimbledon's queue is so institutional that the one-millionth numbered queue card was handed out in 2010.

Which two players were the first to be seeded number one when merit seeding began in 1927?

Seeding of a sort began in 1924, but only to keep players from the same country apart in the draw.

Which sports magazine donated the 25-guinea silver challenge cup for the very first Wimbledon?

The winner also pocketed 12 guineas in prize money, in a supposedly amateur era.

Which BBC theme, composed by Keith Mansfield in 1972, opens Wimbledon coverage?

'A Sporting Occasion' closes the coverage, and Mansfield wrote a third piece, 'World Champion', for NBC's changeovers.

Wimbledon hosted Olympic tennis in 1908 at its old ground. In which year did it host the Olympics again?

The 1908 games were at the old Worple Road ground; 2012 made Wimbledon the first Olympic event on that surface in the modern era.

How many men paid a guinea to enter the first Wimbledon Championship in July 1877?

The Gentlemen's Singles was the only event, held over five days, and the winner also pocketed 12 guineas in prize money.

In which year were the Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles added to Wimbledon?

The Ladies' Singles had arrived in 1884, the same year the Gentlemen's Doubles was transferred from Oxford University.

Until 1921, what privilege did the defending champion enjoy at Wimbledon?

This 'challenge round' system meant the holder simply waited to play whoever won through the rest of the draw.

Who played the first match held entirely under the Centre Court roof, on 29 June 2009?

The roof had been tested a month earlier at an exhibition featuring Agassi, Graf, Clijsters and Henman.

Why did Merton Council impose the 11 pm curfew when it approved the Centre Court roof?

Transport connections for getting fans home safely were also cited as a key consideration.

In which London district does Wimbledon hold its qualifying matches, 3.6 miles from the club?

The club's master plan includes buying the neighbouring golf course for £65 million so qualifying can move on site.

From 1947, Wimbledon's ball boys were recruited from Goldings, a school run by which charity?

Before that, from the 1920s, they had come from The Shaftesbury Children's Home.

What did the old Worple Road ground become after the club moved to Church Road in 1922?

The four acres of meadowland beside the railway had hosted the 1908 Olympic tennis but held only 8,000 spectators.

Roughly how many chair umpires are assigned each day at Wimbledon?

Each usually works two matches a day; line umpires worked in teams of nine or seven until electronic calling took over in 2025.