TALK TENNIS - Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON

For most players, the Wimbledon tournament is the most prestigious in the world. Every player dreams of winning on its famous green lawns. A true “Theatre of Dreams”.



The tournament owes this unique reputation to its environment, its history and its traditions. Wimbledon was the first ever tennis tournament. It has survived the centuries intact and with very few wrinkles along the way.  This is the story of an exceptional sporting competition

For Tables of the Past Winners and Records Click Here

Henry Jones’ Big Idea

It all began in the Wimbledon suburb of London, England, in 1875. That year, the All England Croquet Club decided to offer its members the chance to try a new sport: tennis, invented the same year, by Major Wingfield.

The All England Croquet Club was founded in 1869 by two British men: JH Walsh, director of the countries leading leisure publication, The Field, and Henry Jones, his editor. For 120 pounds a year, they rented a meadow in Wimbledon, between Worple Road and the railway line. In 1875, the two founders bought Major Wingfield’s new game for 25 pounds.

The members of the All England Croquet Club tested the game of tennis, making several changes along the way. Henry Jones never ceased to improve the rules and the game of tennis. In February 1877, the All England Croquet Club (recently renamed the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club) was experiencing financial problems. This prompted Henry Jones to propose the creation of a Tennis Championship to create the much needed bailout funds for the club.                           1st Wimbledon, 1887

Thus, in July 1877, the first Wimbledon tournament was held. It was the first major competition in the history of tennis. Note that until 1922 the official name of the tournament was: Lawn Tennis Championship.

The first edition was only open to men and lasted just 5 days (9, 10, 11, 12 and 19 July). The All England Club hosted 22 players and about 200 spectators. Henry Jones, the tournament director, had put into play a cup worth 25 guineas.

At the time, tennis was obviously just a hobby and not yet a fully fledged sport. However, the All England Club made a huge effort to ensure that Wimbledon was a real competition.

On 19 July, the first Wimbledon final was between a 27 year old Racquet player, Spencer Gore, and a Real Tennis player, Mr. Marshall. It was the former that came through victorious (6-1, 6-2, 6-4,) surprising all his opponents with this offensive, powerful and varied game, winning with a mixture of points at the net, volleys and powerful hitting.

The runner-up, Mr Marshall later designed the Club House at the Queen's Tennis Club in London. 
         Spencer Gore          The grass court venue of the traditional warm up tournament for Wimbledon, held 2 weeks before the actual event


By 1878, participation had increased, with 33 players trying to reach the final, and a chance to face the pervious year’s winner. This "Challenge Round" System, where the winner automatically qualifies for the final the following year, was in place until 1922.

It was Frank Hadow, on vacation in the area, who triumphed and had the privilege of playing Spencer Gore in the final. This unknown Englishman was the significant underdog against  the volleys and powerful hitting of Gore. However, Hadow surprised everyone by winning! (7-5, 6-1, 9-7). During his amazing victory Hadow also invented the lob wondering after his victory why nobody had ever thought to lift the ball over the opponent before.

The 1879 final attracted 1000 spectators, and participation had increased to 45. The same year, the Men’s Double’s competition in introduced. The winning team received a trophy offered by the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club.                                                                             Women's Tennis C.1880

It was not until 1884 that we finally see the first Women's tournament at Wimbledon.  When two sisters who reached the final, Maud and Lilian Watson, with the former winning the title 6-8, 6-3, 6-3.

The competition continued to evolve and, in parallel with the internationalization of tennis, the fame and prestige of Wimbledon grew. At the end of the 19th century, the tournament is the most important tennis championship in the world, despite the creation of other international competitions such as the U.S. Open Championship and the Paris Clay Tournament (future Roland Garros).

Court side, the end of the century was marked by the dominance of Renshaw brothers on the Wimbledon lawns. Between them Ernest and Willie (inventor of smash) appeared in 14 singles finals, of which 8 resulted in victory and won 7 Doubles trophies from 1881 and 1890. Willie won 1882 Wimbledon 6 times in a row (1881-1886) in singles and well as doubles.  This is a record that still stands today. The Renshaw’s then left the way for another set of brothers - Reggie and Laurie Doherty, who between them notched up 9 wins from 1898 and 1906.
           The Renshaw Brothers Playing in the Final     

In the women’s side, Lottie Dod (youngest Wimbledon champion at 15), Charlotte Cooper and Dorothea Douglass are the masters, with 5 wins each between 1887 and 1910.
                                                                                NEXT : 1922: The Big MoveØ
For Past Winners and Records Click Here

                                   Some classic tennis from the past
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