The Wimbledon Championships is the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. First held in 1877 in London, England, it is played on grass courts and is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, alongside the Australian Open, French Open and US Open. Wimbledon is renowned for its traditions, including an all-white dress code, royal patronage, and its long association with the history and development of modern tennis.
Wimbledon began as a men’s singles event organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The tournament quickly grew in popularity and helped standardise the rules of lawn tennis worldwide.
Women first competed at Wimbledon in 1884, when the Ladies’ Singles championship was introduced. Since then, women’s events have been a central part of the tournament, and Wimbledon is notable for awarding equal prize money to men and women, a policy fully adopted in 2007.
Wimbledon has been suspended only during major global crises:
1915–1918 and 1940–1945 due to the First and Second World Wars
2020, when the tournament was cancelled for the first time in peacetime because of the COVID-19 pandemic
The winner (both male and female) come from the USA, followed by United Kingdom, Australia, France and Germany. The winner came from only 19 countries.
Record holder is Martina Navratilova with 9 single Wimbledon titles. Though of Czech origin, her family defected into the USA in 1975, so her wins count for the USA. Most successful male player is Roger Federer with 8 wins.
