Welcome to SW19: An in-depth walk through Wimbledon

With Wimbledon 2016 starting on Monday lets take a look a look at some interesting facts figures history and trivia of the oldest Grand SlamThe All England Lawn and Tennis Club in Wimbledon Pic AFPORIGINUS tennis champion born Czech Martina Navratilova holds the trophy after winning 1982 Ladies Singles at Wimbledon for the third time beating her country fellow Chris Lloyd in the final PicAFPWimbledon began in the year 1877 at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon Wimbledon started as only Gentlemens Single Championship in which only 22 players participated There were only 200 spectators in the first Wimbledon tournament and the tickets were sold for one shilling each in the final match The winner of first Wimbledon Gentlemens Single was Spencer Gore an old Harrovian rackets player On July 19 1877 Gore beat fellow Brit William Marshall 61 62 64 to become the firstever Wimbledon menrsquos singles championWomens Singles tennis events were started in 1884 Initially 13 players entered the tournament The first win of the tournament was registered by Maud WatsonLadies Single Championship and Gentlemens Double were introduced in Wimbledon in 1884ONLY MOTHER TO WIN AT SW19 EVONNE GOOLAGONG IN 1980The Australian tennis player beat Chris Evert in the Wimbledon final to win her seventh and final Grand Slam In the process Evonne became the first mother in 66 years to win a Wimbledon title Goolagong went on to retire in 1983ONLY GRASSCOURT GRAND SLAMWimbledon is the only major tennis tournament still played on grass Both the Australian Open and US Open were once played on grassThese courts were used at the Australian Open until 1987 and the US Open until 1974PRIZE MONEYPlayers at The Championships 2015 received a total of pound2675m ndash that meanth the total prize money rose by a whopping 7 from 2014 188m pound was on offer for each of the singles champions ndash the highest ever in professional tennisDEFENDING CHAMPIONSNovak Djokovic Mens SinglesSerena Williams Womens SinglesLONGEST MATCHThe longest match played at SW19 was in 2010 on Court 18 It was played over three daysMarathon Man John Isner USA beat Nicolas Mahut FRA 64 36 67 7 76 3 7068 in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes with their final set lasted 8hrs 11mins It lasted so long that it was suspended because of darkness two nights in a rowMOST ACES IN ONE TOURNAMENTIn 2001 Croatian Goran Ivanisevic netted 212 aces while Americans Alexandra Stevenson 1999 and Serena Williams 2008 both hit 57 acesFASTEST EVER SERVEAmerican Taylor Dent holds the record for the fastest ever serve at SW19 with a 148mph ace against Novak Djokovic in 2010Venus Williams represents the women in this category having hit a 129mph serve in 2008RAINY DAYSOnly seven Wimbledon tournaments have been played without rain interruptions since 1922 Those were 1931 1976 1977 1993 1995 2009 and 2010HAWKRufus the Hawk is a Harris Hawk used by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to keep pigeons away from their venue Described as an important member of the Wimbledon family Rufus has been scaring away the birds for five years2 taking over from the previous hawk HamishBALL BOYS AND GIRLSThere are more than 200 ball boys and ball girls used to collect tennis balls during WimbledonThere is an eighthourperweek training spanning for four months before the tournament beginsBoris Becker of Germany in 1996 during a Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships tie PicAFPBALLS USEDApproximately 54250 are used during The ChampionshipsROYAL BOXThe Royal Box has 74 seats In 2003 a longstanding tradition of Centre Court players bowing or curtseying to the Royal Box was discontinued by order of the Duke of Kent President of the Club since 1969 who deemed it an anachronism in modern times The only exception would be if the Queen or the Prince of Wales were to attend31 Andy Murray and Jarkko Nieminen elected to bow when the Queen visited The Championships for their 2010 2nd Round match as did Roger Federer and Fabio Fognini at their 2nd round match watched by the Prince of Wales in 2012REFRESHMENTSAround 350000 cups of tea and coffee are sipped during the fortnight while viewers drink 230000 glasses of Pimmrsquos and around 100000 pints of draught beer and lager Also 142000 portions of English strawberries are eatenSHORTEST PLAYERThe shortest tennis player to participate at Wimbledon was Miss CG Hoahing who was just 4 feet 9 inchesFIRST OVERSEAS WINNERThe first overseas winner was American May Sutton who was the ladies champion in 1905 Australian Norman Brookes was the first foreign gentlemens champion when he won it in 1907FIRST PLAYER DISQUALIFIED FROM WIMBLEDONThe firstever player to be disqualified from Wimbledon was Britains Tim Henman in 1995 during a mens double match when he hit a ball girlLONGEST WIMBLEDON CAREERFrench Jean Borotra who was born on August 13 1898 entered in the mens singles event 35 times between 1922 and 1964 a 55 years span His last title came at the age of 41 In 1977 he appeared in the Veterans Doubles aged 78YOUNGEST MALE WINNERThe youngest male champion is Boris Becker West Germany who won the mens singles title in 1985 aged 17 yr 227 daysSHORTEST MATCH IN WIMBLEDON HISTORYThe 1881 Wimbledon final saw William Renshaw defeat John Hartley 6ndash0 6ndash1 6ndash1 in a match that lasted just 37 minutesMAXIMUM TITLESMartina Navratilova has won Wimbledon Women Singles maximum numbers of time ie 9 times She also shares a record of winning 20 Wimbledon titles an alltime record with Billie Jean KingMAXIMUM TITLES IN MENS SINGLESWillie Renshaw and Pete Sampras hold the record of winning the Wimbledon Men Singles a maximum of 7 timesIn the Amateur Era Renshaw 1881ndash1886 1889 holds the record for most titles in the Gentlemens Singles with seven victories Renshaws wins however came within the challenge round format and he won the event only twice after going through a complete draw Renshaw also holds the record for most consecutive titles with six from 1881 to 1886 The record for most consecutive and most wins post challenge round during the Amateur Era is Fred Perry 1934ndash1936In the Open Era since the inclusion of professional tennis players in 1968 Pete Sampras 1993ndash1995 1997ndash2000 and Roger Federer 2003ndash2007 2009 2012 cohold the record for most victories with seven Bjoumlrn Borg 1976ndash1980 and Roger Federer 2003ndash2007 cohold the record for most consecutive victories with fiveYOUNGEST WINNER Swiss Martina Hingis beams with delight as she holds the Womens Singles Trophy in1996 after beating Czech Jana Novotna at the Wimbledon Championships Hingis won the match 26 63 63 becoming the youngest champion this century PicAFPMartina Hingis became the youngest player to win a Wimbledon title at the age of 15 years 282 days by winning doubles championship in 1996SOME OBSCURE TRIVIAChampions who wore headgear in a singles final33 players including John McEnroe ldquoBroad Red Headbandrdquo in 1981 Martina Navratilova ldquoThin Purple Ribbon Headbandrdquo in 1990 and Conchita Martinez ldquoBroad Navy Blue Headbandrdquo in 1994 have worn a headgear in the singles final2016 is the 130th edition of the eventThe recent 2015 Wimbledon championships was the 129th edition of the eventInterruptionsWimbledon has been interrupted on twice ndash during the First and Second World WarAttendanceOver 500000 people attend the Wimbledon tournament every year making it the biggest tennis tournament on grassBorota love affairFrancersquos Jean Borota clinched his first title in 1924 and 40 years later he still competed in the tournament He went on to play at the Wimbledon veterans in 1977 at the age of 78MOSTThe Compendium does not record how a Miss MH de Amorim of Brazil felt about entering the record book for having served 17 consecutive double faults to begin her match at Wimbledon in 1957 She lost As did Miss L Anderson of Great Britain who served 11 consecutive double faults in a 1946 matchGoose Eggs16 men have lost 60 60 60 from 1878 to 1987 125 women have been eliminated 60 60Winners who have climbed into the stands at WimbledonFive men and six women have climbed into the stands after winning the tournament Pat Cash 1987 Martina Navratilova 1990 Steffi Graf 1993 1995 Jana Novotna 1998 Venus Williams 2000 Pete Sampras 2000 Goran Ivanisevic 2001 Lleyton Hewitt 2002 Maria Sharapova 2004 Amelie Mauresmo 2006 and Rafael Nadal 2008According to the Wimbledon Compendium ldquoimmediatelyrdquo after winning a title on Centre Court these players ldquoscaled the terraces to the Playersrsquo Match Seats Box to embrace their kin or supportersrdquoUS Pete Sampras kisses the cup after winning the mens singles final at the Wimbledon Championships in 1997 against French Cedric Pioline The final was won by Sampras 64 62 64 PicAFPImportant DatesWimbledon championship celebrated its centenary in 1977The roof of the Center Court was increased by a height of one meter in 1979 thereby providing room for another 1088 seatsThe centenary of the Ladies Singles championship was held in 1984The year 1986 is one of the significant years in the history of Wimbledon because its 100th championship was celebrated with great fanfareThe 100th Ladies Championship was commemorated in 1993BEYOND THE COURTStrawberries and CreamThis traditional English dessert is served to spectators during the tournament The combination of Strawberries and cream was created by cardinal Thomas Wolsey in the court of King Henry VIII It is a staple during every WimbledonQueen Elizabeth II PicAFPPrince Charles L and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall R in the Royal Box on Center Court before the second round mens singles match between Switzerlands Roger Federer and Italys Fabio Fognini on day three of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament at the All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon southwest London on June 27 2012 PicAFPThe Royal familyPlayers were obligated to bow and curtsy to members of the Royal Family seated in the Royal Box upon entering or leaving Centre Court The President of the All England Club His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent decided to discontinue the tradition in 2003 Now players are required to bow only if HRH The Prince of Wales or Her Majesty The Queen is present as was in practice during the 2010 Championships when the Queen was in attendance at Wimbledon on 24 June Roger Federer famously mentioned in his postmatch interview in 2012 that he and his opponent had been asked to bow towards the Royal Box as Prince Charles and his wife were present saying that that was no problem for himA part of television historyWimbledon was also involved in a piece of television history when on 1 July 1967 the first official colour television broadcast took place in the UK Four hours live coverage of the 1967 Championships was shown on BBC Two then the only colour channel in the UK and although footage of that historic match no longer survives the Gentlemens Final that year is still held in the BBC archives because it was the first Gentlemens Final transmitted in colourTheme musicThe BBCs opening theme music for Wimbledon was composed by Keith Mansfield and is titled Light and Tuneful A piece titled A Sporting Occasion is the traditional closing theme though nowadays coverage typically ends either with a montage set to a popular song or with no music at all Mansfield also composed the piece World Champion used by NBC during intervals changeovers set breaks etc and at the close of broadcasts throughout the tournamentThe retractable roof on Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Club Wimbledon England PicAFPThe retractable roofWimbledons Centre Court was fitted with a retractable roof to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain in 2009 It takes up to 10 minutes to close during which time play shall be suspended However the time to transfer from outside to inside play can be up to 45 minutes while the airconditioning system acclimatizes the nearly 15000seat stadium for indoorgrass competition The tournament rules for the Wimbledon fortnight dictate the roof must remain closed until the end of the match so some matches may be completed indoors even though the sun has reemerged The roof was closed for the first time during a competitive Championships match at about 440 pm on Monday 29 June 2009 during the fourth round Ladies Singles match between Ameacutelie Mauresmo and Dinara Safina The first full match to be played with the roof closed was a mens singles fourth round match between British player Andy Murray and Switzerlands Stanislas WawrinkaA steward holds a sign as tennis fans queue for tournament tickets to watch the action on the second day of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships AFP PHOTONo tickets Dont worryWimbledon and the French Open are the only Grand Slam tournaments where fans without tickets for play can queue up and still get seats on the three show courts on the day of the matchTennis fans sitting on Henman Hill as rain delays the start of the sixth day of the 2007 Wimbledon championships AFP PHOTOHenman HillAt the northern end of the grounds is a giant television screen on which important matches are broadcast Fans watch from an area of grass officially known as the Aorangi Terrace When British players do well at Wimbledon the hill attracts fans for them and is often renamed by the press for them Greg Rusedskis followers convened at Rusedski Ridge and Tim Henman has had the hill nicknamed Henman Hill As both of them have now retired and Andy Murray is the number 1 British player the hill is occasionally referred to as Murray Mound or Murrayfield as a reference to his Scottish heritage and the Scottish ground of the same name but this has largely failed to catch on ndash the area is still usually referred to as Henman Hill None of these nicknames are official