Wimbledon Tennis Championship

Wimbledon Tennis Championship By Julie Mason The history of the game Nobody knows when tennis was first played, but the man who wrote the rules for the modern game was the Welshman Walter Clopton Wingfield in 1874. He called the game ‘Sphairistiké’, taking the name from the Greek word ‘sphairos’, meaning ball. The first Championship The game quickly became very popular in Britain, and in 1877 the All England Club held the first Wimbledon Championship, which made it the oldest tennis competition in the world. Twenty-two men were allowed to play and the final was won by Spencer Gore. It was watched by about 200 people and the winner won 12 ‘guineas’, which is about ￡12 (€15) in modern money. The first tennis superstar One of the most successful players in the early years was the British man William Renshaw who won seven singles titles, an achievement he shares with Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. One of the first non-British players to win was the New Zealander Tony Wilding. He was unbeatable from 1909 to 1913 and might have won more, but sadly he died in World War Ⅰ. Ladies’ tennis Although at first tennis was just a men’s game, the Ladies’ Championship started in 1884. Ladies’ tennis quickly became very popular, in part due to a French woman, Suzanne Lenglen, who was known for her fashionable dresses as well as her tennis. Wimbledon today A lot has changed since the early days of the Championships, but a lot has stayed the same. No advertising is allowed on the courts and all games are still played on grass. During the Championships, 28 people are needed to look after it. Strawberries are eaten by the visitors (28,000 kilos at a recent event) and players must wear clothes which are mostly white, just as they did 130 years ago. Organising the event In 2013, nearly half a million people came to see Wimbledon, 757 players took part and around 6,000 people worked at the event. With so many people, everything has to be carefully planned. For example, at 9 o’clock each morning, a hawk called Rufus flies over the ground to keep small birds away. But despite all the careful preparation, things can still go wrong. An important match in 1998 was stopped when a mouse ran onto the court!