Ten Rather Interesting Facts About Wimbledon

Wimbledon is one of the four big tennis tournaments which happens annually and one of the most bet-on sporting events of the year. Wimbledon has been in existence for over a century and is the oldest international tennis tournament. We have put together a list of 10 interesting facts about Wimbledon for you…

10) How old exactly is Wimbledon?

It was the year 1877 when Wimbledon began at the All-England Club in London. The event is now 137 years old. The event is now 137 years old. It was founded in 1877 and began at the ALL England Club in London. Wimbledon was cancelled from 1940 to 1945 because of World War II, and Centre Court was damaged by a German bomb in 1940.

9) Mixed-gender event

Originally the event had been only an all-male event until, in 1884, the Ladies Single Championship was introduced alongside the Gentleman’s double. And you can bet on all of these games online.

8) Youngest person ever to win

At the age of 15 years, Martina Hingis became the youngest player to win a Wimbledon title ever. This was achieved in 1996 in a doubles championship with Helena Suková.

7) Dress Code

You always see Tennis players wearing white, and this isn’t for no reason. There is actually a very strict rule placed which makes them wear white which is determined by the umpire whether or not the players have met the criteria. What’s wrong with adding a bit of colour?

6) Most Single Championship Wins

Willie Renshaw, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer all hold a joint record of winning the singles championship seven times each.

5) Most consecutive double faults

For those who don’t know, a double fault is when a server is hit outside the service box or when it hits the net and lands outside the service box. In 1957, Maria de Amorin, a Brazilian player, hit 17 consecutive doubles faults during her second-round match.

4) Unfair disqualification?

David Nalbandian was disqualified from the semi-finals of the 1999 Junior Wimbledon. This made the Argentine win the doubles, and why? All because he was late and this was because the organizers changed the time of the match at the last minute, so was it really his fault?

3) White Tennis Balls

White Tennis balls were originally used in the sport, but after umpires’ complained that they couldn’t see the balls properly when making judgements because they didn’t always have the ability to replay the match so the colour of the Tennis balls was changed to yellow in 1986.

2) Wooden Rackets

Did you know that before 1988, tennis people used rackets made from wood? But in the championships of 1988, this was the first event at which no players used wooden rackets.

1) Interruption from a mouse

In the 1998 Single Championships, Yevgeny Kafelnikov’s match with Mark Philippoussis was interrupted by a mouse running on the court. There was only a short break until the mouse had moved on, and the game continued.

So there you have it, ten interesting facts about Wimbledon. Do you know of any more? Have you ever been to Wimbledon? Do let us know in the comments below.