Wimbledon is one of the four major Grand Slams of tennis and is typically played during the last week of June and the first week of July every year. It is the oldest of the Grand Slams and is considered by most tennis professionals to be the ultimate tournament to win. Over the years Wimbledon has seen its fair share of trials and tribulations, with many outstanding performances from individuals whose names have become etched into tennis history. What follows are 10 fun facts that you may not be aware of about the world’s greatest tennis tournament.

Wimbledon Facts

1)      On average, Wimbledon sees well over 50,000 tennis balls used each and every year. The balls are typically changed after 7 straight games, which means on average each match will see anywhere between 2 to 9 ball changes.

2)      Wimbledon is now the only Grand Slam that is played on grass, which happened to be the original surface used for all tennis matches. This is the actual reason that tennis is often referred to as “lawn tennis”. The other 3 Grand Slams were also originally played on grass, but the Australian and U.S. Opens are now played on hard courts, whereas the French Open is played on clay.

3)      The organisers are extremely strict about the players wearing white clothing, socks and trainers. Many of the other tournaments will see players sporting a wide variety of colors, but Wimbledon has a strictly white-only clothing policy – so much so, that 7-time winner, Roger Federer was actually once pulled up by tournament officials, who considered that he was flouting their rules by having orange soles on his white trainers.

4)      It is estimated that over the two-week period within which the tournament runs approximately 500,000 spectators will attend.

5)      Players always had to bow or curtsey before the Royal Box, however, this ruling changed in 2003. Now players only have to show this sign of respect if the Queen or Prince Charles are actually sitting in the Royal Box. The President of the All England Club, the Duke of Kent, does not expect the same courtesy.

6)      Strawberries and Cream is the traditional snack at Wimbledon and over the two weeks the spectators will consume approximately 61,000 pounds of strawberries and 7,000 litres of cream.

7)      The extremely famous Centre Court actually managed to survive a bombing during the Second World War. The court hasn’t actually changed that much over the past 100 years, although it does now feature a retractable roof, which can help to prevent delays due to the weather.

8)      As mentioned, Wimbledon is the oldest Grand Slam, and the first tournament was played there in 1877.

9)      Although the tournament is held in Great Britain, Andy Murray became the first British male winner in 77 years when he secured the crown in 2013. The previous male winner was the late, great Fred Perry, who managed to secure the Wimbledon Championships in 1935 and 1936.

10)   All of the players get an entire day off, as the middle Sunday of the tournament is considered a “day of rest”.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source

Today’s feature writer, Nancy Baker, an accountant at OpenAire which are renowned water park developers. She is an earnest employee and she enjoys spending time with her family when she isn’t busy working.

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