Britain> Sports events

Wimbledon

The Wimbledon Tennis Tournament is the most famous tennis event in the world, which takes place annually in June or July. It is the third of the Grand Slam series, following the French Open and Australian Open and preceding the US Open. Among its defining characteristics is that it is the only lawn tennis competition of the series, played on a court of rye grass.

The event runs over two weeks and has the following nine categories - men's singles and doubles, women's singles and doubles, mixed doubles, and the youth competitions - boys' and girls' singles and doubles. There are also age categories for 35 and over and 45 and over. Finally, there is a special-Olympics type competition for disabled players.

The competition dates back to 1877, when it began as an outdoor party in Wimbledon, England. The winner of the first tournament proper was Spencer Gore, and there were 200 spectators at the time, contrasted to the hundreds of thousands that arrive onsite to watch the event in the present day, not counting those that watch it on TV and online or listen to it on the radio. It is aired all over the world. Today Wimbledon is still organized by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the most prestigious tennis club in England and perhaps in the entire world. It has managed the event since it was founded.

When the competition started out in the 19th century there was just one category, Men's Singles. Seven years later Women's Singles were introduced, and the first winner in this category was Maud Watson. Men's Doubles were also added that year. Two more categories were added in 1913, and several years later the site was moved from the region of Wimbledon to an area in the vicinity of Church Road.

Wimbledon was exclusively an English event before 1905. After that year it was opened to foreigners, and American player May Sutton won the title. Today it features competitors from over 60 countries. However, some aspects of tradition are retained - this event is not subject to external financing and it is not commercialised like the other three tournaments of the Grand Slam series. This fact notwithstanding, it still manages to sell the highest number of tickets. Its organization is impeccable and its historical traditions have been maintained, something that is typically in the British spirit.

The tournament is practically all-inclusive, giving an equal opportunity to all. The Amateur category was added in 1968. The last British winners of the singles competition were Virginia Wade in 1977 and Fred Perry in 1936.
The matches in the Men's Doubles and Singles are organized according to the best of five sets principle, while all other competitions are best of three. The general policy for tournaments is to exclude a player if he/she loses a single match, a one-strike principle.

The precursors to the Wimbledon are the Queen's Club Championships and the Gerry Weber Open in Germany, both for men. Each competition includes 128 players for singles, 64 pairs for men's or women's doubles and 48 teams of two in the mixed category. The players are subject to international ranking prior to the central events. The ranking is not final - sometimes players with a lower ranking may be admitted if organizers consider that their participation would provoke high interest. Such a player was Goran Ivanisevic, who won the men's singles in 2001.

The official colors of the tournament are purple and dark green. Players are generally required to wear white. There is an extremely strict dress code, unparalled in the field of athletic tournaments.
There are some significant financial prizes, but the international prestige of the Wimbledon title is usually the main consideration.
William Renshaw and Pete Sampras are record-holders in the men's singles in terms of victories, each one with 7 total. Martina Navratilova has the most wins - 9 - in the women's singles category. She also has the highest number of victories in all tournaments and shares this honor with the magnificent player Billie Jean King. They both hold a total of 20 wins.