What s as quintessentially British as the Gin and Tonic cocktail, invented by British officers in India in the early 1900 s? Wimbledon, the world-renowned lawn tennis championship that is played during the first two weeks of July. Now one of the world s grand slam tournaments, Wimbledon has its roots as a Victorian era garden party game for the upper classes to play on their lawns. Today, Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments with grass courts. In 2009, a retractable roof was added along with air conditioning to reduce the downtimes between sets. The All England Club is a blend of tradition and innovation, especially for tennis. Photo credits: Wimbledon and Thomas Lovelock/AELTC
Born out of the game called croquet, which is played with mallets and hard balls being pushed and punted through little hoops (wickets), tennis originated in the late 1870 s in England. Back then, it was called lawn tennis and it was played on the same grassy courts as croquet. Wimbledon, a suburb of southwestern London, became famous for its croquet and tennis courts and the founding of the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club in 1877. Tennis quickly surpassed croquet as the game of choice for the leisure class and a burgeoning class of professional players for whom Wimbledon became their playground. Tennis techniques like the overhead serve and the lob shot were invented at Wimbledon. An exhibition match in 1883 between the Renshaw brothers, representing Great Britain, and the Clark brothers, representing USA. Photo credits: Wimbledon and Thomas Lovelock/AELTC
The landscape of the grounds has changed significantly to accommodate more courts, more spectators, and more members. Photo credits: Wimbledon and Thomas Lovelock/AELTC
By the 1880 s, spectators were flocking to Wimbledon for its annual two-week championships and women joined the games in 1884. Interestingly, tennis players who played the championships were called amateurs, a congenial term for gentlemen who were the majority of the club s members. Professional athletes still had the stigma of being second-class citizens. In 1968, Wimbledon adopted the term professional and championships were played by tennis players who were being paid for their tennis ability (wins). To put it all in perspective, last year the All England Club awarded 31.6m in prize money. Preparations for The Championships 2017. Photo credits: Wimbledon and Thomas Lovelock/AELTC
In order for the elite club members to flaunt their upper-class status, Wimbledon mandated players to wear all white (not cream nor off white) in 1890, a tradition that endures today. In 1900, ladies were allowed to shorten the hemlines of their tennis uniforms to knee length and, in 1920, one woman played without wearing her corset. Shorts became the accepted uniform in the 1930 s for both sexes. As one can imagine, the competition for ball girls and ball boys whose average is 15 years old is cut-throat. Seven hundred applicants vie for 250 spots.
Tennis memorabilia at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. Photo credits: Wimbledon and Thomas Lovelock/AELTC
Every year, Wimbledon out caters (2,200 F&F staff) more than any other European sporting event serving up a dizzying amount of tea (333,000 cups), scones (110,000), strawberries (166,000 servings), dairy cream, Pimm s, Champagne and beer, among other traditionally British menu items like fish and chips. Nary a Gin and Tonic on the drinks menu at this event! The Club has a long and proud history of Royal patronage. In 2017, The Duchess of Cambridge (pictured here alongside the Duke of Cambridge in 2015), took over from Queen Elizabeth II as the Patron of The All England Club. Photo credits: Wimbledon and Thomas Lovelock/AELTC
Roger Federer at the 2017 Champions Dinner. Photo credits: Wimbledon and Thomas Lovelock/AELTC