Beginning

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is a private club founded on 23 July 1868, originally as "The All England Croquet Club". Its first ground was at Nursery Road off Worple Road, Wimbledon.^[12]

In 1876, lawn tennis, a game devised by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield^[13] a year or so earlier as an outdoor version of real tennis and originally given the name Sphairistikè, was added to the activities of the club. In spring 1877, the club was renamed "The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club" and signalled its change of name by instituting the first Lawn Tennis Championship. A new code of laws, replacing the code administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club, was drawn up for the event. Today's rules are similar except for details such as the height of the net and posts and the distance of the service line from the net.

The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship started on 9 July 1877 and the Gentlemen's Singles was the only event held. 22 men paid a guinea to enter the tournament, which was to be held over five days. The rain delayed it four more days and thus, on 19 July 1877, the final was played. Spencer Gore, an Old Harrovian rackets player, defeated William Marshall 6–1, 6–2 and 6–4 in 48 minutes. Gore was presented with the silver challenge cup, valued at 25 guineas and donated by the sports magazine The Field, as well as a prize money of 12 guineas. About 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final.^[14]

The lawns at the ground were arranged so that the principal court was in the middle with the others arranged around it, hence the title "Centre Court".^[d] The name was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, although no longer a true description of its location.^[16] However, in 1980 four new courts were brought into commission on the north side of the ground, which meant the Centre Court was once more correctly described. The opening of the new No. 1 Court in 1997 emphasised the description.

By 1882, activity at the club was almost exclusively confined to lawn tennis and that year the word "croquet" was dropped from the title. However, for sentimental reasons it was restored in 1899.

In 1884, the club added the Ladies' Singles competition and the Gentlemen's Doubles was transferred from the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club. Ladies' doubles and mixed doubles events were added in 1913. The first black player to compete at Wimbledon was Bertrand Milbourne Clark, an amateur from Jamaica, in 1924.^[17]

Until 1922, the reigning champion had to play only in the final, against whoever had won through to challenge them. As with the other three Major or Grand Slam events, Wimbledon was contested by top-ranked amateur players; professional players were prohibited from participating. This changed with the advent of the open era in 1968. No British man won the singles event at Wimbledon between Fred Perry in 1936 and Andy Murray in 2013, while no British woman has won since Virginia Wade in 1977, although Annabel Croft and Laura Robson won the Girls' Championship in 1984 and 2008 respectively. The Championship was first televised in 1937.

Though formally called "The Championships, Wimbledon", depending on sources the event is also known as "The All England Lawn Tennis Championships", the "Wimbledon Championships" or simply "Wimbledon". From 1912 to 1924, the tournament was recognized by the International Lawn Tennis Federation as the "World Grass Court Championships".

In the period of 1915–1918, no tournament was organised due to World War I. During World War II, the tournament was not held in the period 1940–1945. On 11 October 1940 one bomb hit a corner of the competitors’ stand of the Centre Court. The championships did go ahead in 1946 even though the damage meant that 1,200 seats were lost. The organisers were unable to repair the damaged section until 1947 and the Centre Court was fully restored and renovated for the 1949 edition.^[18]

In 1946 and 1947 Wimbledon was held before the French Championships. It was thus the second Grand Slam tennis event of the year.

21st century

Wimbledon is widely considered the world's premier tennis tournament and the priority of the club is to maintain its leadership. To that end a long-term plan was unveiled in 1993, intended to improve the quality of the event for spectators, players, officials and neighbours.^[19] Stage one (1994–1997) of the plan was completed for the 1997 championships and involved building the new No. 1 Court in Aorangi Park, a broadcast centre, two extra grass courts and a tunnel under the hill linking Church Road and Somerset Road. Stage two (1997–2009) involved the removal of the old No. 1 Court complex to make way for the new Millennium Building, providing extensive facilities for players, press, officials and members, and the extension of the West Stand of the Centre Court with 728 extra seats. Stage three (2000–2011) was completed with the construction of an entrance building, club staff housing, museum, bank and ticket office.^[20]

A new retractable roof was built in time for the 2009 championships, marking the first time that rain did not stop play for a lengthy time on Centre Court. The Club tested the new roof at an event called A Centre Court Celebration on Sunday, 17 May 2009, which featured exhibition matches involving Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, and Tim Henman. The first Championship match to take place under the roof was the completion of the fourth round women's singles match between Dinara Safina and Amélie Mauresmo. The first match to be played in its entirety under the new roof took place between Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka on 29 June 2009. Murray was also involved in the match completed latest in the day at Wimbledon, which ended at 11:02 pm in a victory over Marcos Baghdatis at Centre Court in the third round of the 2012 Championships. The 2012 Gentlemen's Singles Final on 8 July 2012, between Roger Federer and Murray, was the first singles final to be partially played under the roof, which was activated during the third set.^[e]

A new 4,000-seat No. 2 Court was built on the site of the old No. 13 Court in time for the 2009 Championships.^[21] A new 2,000-seat No. 3 Court was built on the site of the old No. 2 and No. 3 Courts.^[22]

On 1 August 2011, the All England Club transferred all of its assets relating to The Championships to a separate though wholly owned subsidiary, The All England Lawn Tennis Club (Championships) Limited, also known as AELTC. Since that time, the club's activities have been formally conducted separately from those of The Championships.^[23]

In 2012, the All England Club hosted the Summer Olympic Games and became the first Olympic grass court tournament since tennis was reintroduced as an Olympic sport and the first to be held at a Grand Slam venue in the Open era.^[24]

In April 2013, Wimbledon unveiled its 'Master Plan' a vision in which to improve the championships over the next 10–15 years. This was in large part due to other Grand Slam tournaments such as the French Open and Australian Open also announcing expansion and re-development plans.^[25][26] Aspects of the master plan included new player and media facilities, expansion of the No.1 court including a new retractable roof, new catering and hospitality areas, additional floor to the museum building, construction of an underground car park and new indoor courts and also a total reconfiguration of the site including the relocation of a number of practice, clay and championship courts.^[27]

Part of the plan also includes acquiring the land of the adjacent Wimbledon Park Golf club for £65 million, so that the tournament qualifying matches can be played on site. ^[28]

On 19 October 2018, it was announced that a tie-break will be played if the score reaches 12–12 in the final set of any match; this will apply to all competitions including in qualifying, singles, and doubles. ^[29][30] In a related statement, it was announced that starting at the 2019 Championships, quad wheelchair competitions would become a permanent event.^[31]

As a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the All England Club announced on 1 April 2020 that the entire grass-court season was to be cancelled as a public safety precaution until June 2021, marking the first time a Wimbledon tournament would not be played since World War II.^[32] Club officials considered playing the tournament behind closed doors, but this was ruled out in part because at least 5,000 people–including ballboys, officials, coaches, maintenance, and security–would have still needed to be on site to hold a functioning tournament. Former player and current All England Club board member Tim Henman told the Tennis Channel of the US that the board had carefully considered holding a closed-door Wimbledon. However, the sheer number of people who still would have needed to be on site led the board to realise "that wasn't going to be a workable option".^[33] Prior to the start of the 2003 tournament, the club began paying an annual insurance premium of £1.61m ($2 million) to cover losses from cancellation of Wimbledon in the event of a worldwide pandemic as a result of the SARS outbreak; it would receive an insurance payment of £114 million ($141 million) for the 2020 cancellation on expected losses of around £250 million ($312 million).^[34]

In April 2022, due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the All England Club announced that Russian and Belarusian players would be prohibited from competing in the tournament. Unlike the ATP and WTA, participation as neutral athletes is also prohibited.^[35] On 20 May 2022, the ATP, ITF, and WTA announced that they will not award ranking points for the tournament, as they considered the prohibition unilateral, and constituted discrimination against players based on nationality.^[36] On 31 March 2023, the ban on Russian and Belarusian players was lifted by the All England Club.^[37]

On 9 October 2024, it was announced that line judges would be replaced by electronic line calling technology on all courts starting at the 2025 Championship.^[38][39]

Main events

The five main events, and the number of players (or teams, in the case of doubles) are:

• Gentlemen's Singles (128)
• Ladies' Singles (128)
• Gentlemen's Doubles (64)
• Ladies' Doubles (64)
• Mixed Doubles (32)

Junior events

The four junior events and the number of players or teams are:

• Boys' Singles (64)
• Girls' Singles (64)
• Boys' Doubles (32)
• Girls' Doubles (32)

No mixed doubles event is held at this level

Invitation events

The seven invitational events and the number of pairs are:

• Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles (8 pairs Round Robin)^[f]
• Ladies' Invitation Doubles (8 pairs Round Robin)
• Senior Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles (8 pairs Round Robin)^[g]
• Gentlemen's Wheelchair Singles^[41]
• Ladies' Wheelchair Singles
• Gentlemen's Wheelchair Doubles (4 pairs)^[42]
• Ladies' Wheelchair Doubles (4 pairs)^[42]

Match formats

Matches in the Gentlemen's Singles are best-of-five sets. In 2023 it was decided that Gentlemen's Doubles match formats will be changed from best-of-five sets to best-of-three sets due to complaints from partaking players;^[43] all other events are best-of-three sets. Up to and including the 2018 tournament, a tiebreak game is played if the score reaches 6–all in any set except the fifth (in a five-set match) or the third (in a three-set match), in which case a two-game lead must be reached. Since 2019, a final set tiebreak game is played if the score in the final set reaches 12–all.^[29] In 2022 it was decided all matches would have a final set tiebreak once the match reached 6–6, with a champions tiebreak taking place meaning the winner needs to get to 10 points and win by two points.^[44][45] If the score is 9–9 play continues until one player wins by two points.

All events are single-elimination tournaments,^[h] except for the Gentlemen's, Senior Gentlemen's and the Ladies' Invitation Doubles, which are round-robin tournaments.

Up to 1921, the winners of the previous year's competition (except in the Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles) were automatically granted byes into the final round (then known as the challenge round). This led to many winners retaining their titles in successive years, as they were able to rest while their opponent competed from the start of the competition. Since 1922, the prior year's champions were required to play all the rounds, like other tournament competitors.

1913 suffragette terror attack

An attempt was made to destroy the grounds in 1913, during the suffragette bombing and arson campaign. The suffragettes, as part of their campaign for women's votes before the First World War, had begun carrying out politically motivated arson and bombings across the country.^[65] On the night of 27 February 1913, a suffragette woman "between the ages of 30–35" was arrested within the grounds, after being spotted by a groundsman climbing over a hedge at around midnight.^[66] She was found to have with her some paraffin and wood shavings, for the purpose of setting fires in the grounds.^[66] The woman refused to give her name or any information to the police and was later sentenced to two months' imprisonment.^[66]

Bank of England Sports Centre

The qualifying matches, prior to the main draw, take place at the Bank of England Sports Ground, in Roehampton, 3.6 miles (5.8 km) from the All England Club.^[67]

Ball boys and ball girls

In the championship games, ball boys and girls, known as BBGs, have a brief that a good BBG "should not be seen. They should blend into the background and get on with their jobs quietly."^[69]

From 1947 ball boys were recruited from Goldings,^[70] the only Barnardos school to provide them. Prior to this, from the 1920s onwards, the ball boys came from The Shaftesbury Children's Home.

Since 1969, BBGs have been drawn from local schools. Traditionally, Wandsworth Boys School in Sutherland Grove, Southfields and Mayfield Girls School on West Hill in Wandsworth (only Southfields remains extant), were the schools of choice for selection of BBGs. This was possibly owing to their proximity to the club. Since 2008 they have been drawn from schools in the London boroughs of Merton, Sutton, Kingston, and Wandsworth, as well as from Surrey.^[71] BBGs have an average age of 15, being drawn from the school years nine and ten.^[72] They serve for one, or if re-selected, for up to five tournaments, up to year thirteen.^[73]

Starting in 2005, BBGs work in teams of six, two at the net, four at the corners, and teams rotate one hour on court, one hour off, (two hours depending on the court) for the day's play.^[72] Teams are not told which court they will be working on the day, to ensure the same standards across all courts. With the expansion of the number of courts, and lengthening the tennis day, as of 2008, the number of BBGs required is around 250. Starting on the second Wednesday, the number of BBGs is reduced due to the decrease in the number of matches per day, leaving around 80 on the final Sunday. Each BBG receives a certificate, a can of used balls, a group photograph and a programme when leaving. BBG service is paid, with a total of £160-£250 being paid to each ball boy or girl after the 13-day period, depending on the number of days served, around £17 per day. Every BBG keeps their kit. BBG places are split 50:50 between boys and girls, with girls having been included since 1977, appearing on centre court since 1985.^[74]

Prospective BBGs are first nominated by their school representative, to be considered for selection. To be selected, a candidate must pass written tests on the rules of tennis, and pass fitness, mobility and other suitability tests, against initial preliminary instruction material. Successful candidates then commence a training phase, starting in February, in which the final BBGs are chosen through continual assessment. As of 2008, this training intake was 300. The training includes weekly sessions of physical, procedural and theoretical instruction, to ensure that the BBGs are fast, alert, self-confident and adaptable to situations. As of 2011, early training occurs at the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis Club Community Centre, before moving to the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis Club Covered Courts, to the side of the Grounds, and then to outside courts (8, 9, 10) the week before the Championships to ensure that BBGs gain a feel of the grass court.^{[citation needed]}

Umpires

At The Championships at Wimbledon, forty-two chair umpires are assigned each day and usually work two matches a day. They use tablet computers to score each match and these scores are displayed on the scoreboards and on wimbledon.com.^[75] Line umpires worked in teams of nine or seven. Teams of nine umpires worked the Centre Court and Court numbers 1, 2, 3, 12, and 18 with the remaining teams of seven working the other courts. These teams rotated, working sixty minutes on the court and then sixty minutes off.

In 2007 a new technology called Hawk-Eye was introduced.^[76] This technology showed whether the ball bounced in bounds or out. Wimbledon started using this technology but continued to use line umpires as well. However the players were only allowed to ask to see this 3 times during one set.^[77]

Line umpires and the ability to challenge calls made during a match were axed, starting from the 2025 Championships, due to the professional tennis tours adopting the Hawk-Eye Live technology from the 2025 season for any tournament capable of supporting it, bringing an end to the 147 years of traditional scenes of line umpires walking to and from the courts during matches. The only umpire on the court will now be the chair umpire, although the new role of match assistants will be created to escort players to the bathroom or take their racquets to the stringer.^[38][39]

Colours and uniforms

Dark green and purple are the traditional Wimbledon colours. However, all tennis players participating in the tournament are required to wear all-white or at least almost all-white clothing, a long-time tradition at Wimbledon.^[78][i] This rule was put in place in 1963, when the tournament's first dress code was enforced.^[81] Wearing white clothing with some colour accents is also acceptable, provided the colour scheme is not that of an identifiable commercial brand logo (the outfitter's brand logo being the sole exception). Controversy followed Martina Navratilova's wearing branding for "Kim" cigarettes in 1982. In 2023 rules first allowed all female players, included but not limited to in the girls’ singles junior event, to wear non-white underwear; the new rule allows "solid, mid/dark-coloured undershorts, provided they are no longer than their shorts or skirt".^[79] Green clothing was worn by the chair umpire, linesmen, ball boys and ball girls until the 2005 Championships; however, beginning with the 2006 Championships, officials, ball boys and ball girls were dressed in new navy blue- and cream-coloured uniforms from American designer Ralph Lauren.

Referring to players

By tradition, the "Men's" and "Women's" competitions are referred to as "Gentlemen's" and "Ladies'" competitions at Wimbledon. The junior competitions are referred to as the "Boys'" and "Girls'" competitions.

Prior to 2009, female players were referred to by the title "Miss" or "Mrs" on scoreboards. On the Wimbledon's Champions Board, married female players were referred to by their husband's name up until 2019. For the first time during the 2009 tournament, players were referred to on scoreboards by both their first and last names.^[82]

The title "Mr" is not used for male players who are professionals on scoreboards but is retained for amateurs, although chair umpires refer to players as "Mr" when they use the replay challenge. The chair umpire will say "Mr <surname> is challenging the call..." and "Mr. <surname> has X challenges remaining." Up until 2018, the chair umpire said "Miss"/"Mrs" <surname> when announcing the score of the Ladies' matches. However, the chair umpire no longer calls "Miss"/"Mrs" <surname> when announcing the score, since 2019.^[83] As of the 2022 edition of the tournament, the use of Mr, Miss and Mrs was eliminated: players are now referred to by their names, as written on the scoreboard by the umpire at all points in a match.

If a match is being played with two competitors of the same surname (e.g. Venus and Serena Williams, Bob and Mike Bryan), the chair umpire will specify to whom they are referring by stating the player's first name and surname during announcements (e.g. "Game, Venus Williams", "Advantage, Mike Bryan").

Royal family

Previously, players bowed or curtsied to members of the royal family seated in the Royal Box upon entering or leaving Centre Court. However, in 2003, All England Club president Prince Edward, Duke of Kent decided to discontinue the tradition. Now, players are required to bow or curtsy only if the Prince of Wales or the King is present,^[84] as was in practice during the 2010 Championships when Elizabeth II was in attendance at Wimbledon on 24 June.^[85] On 27 June 2012, Roger Federer said in his post-match interview that he and his opponent had been asked to bow towards the Royal Box as Prince Charles and his wife were present, saying that it was not a problem for him.^[86]

Services stewards

Prior to the Second World War, members of the Brigade of Guards and retired members of the Royal Artillery performed the role of stewards. In 1946 the AELTC offered employment to wartime servicemen returning to civilian life during their demobilisation leave. Initially, this scheme extended only to the Royal Navy, followed by the British Army in 1947 and the Royal Air Force in 1949. In 1965 London Fire Brigade members joined the ranks of stewards.^[87] The service stewards, wearing uniform, are present in Centre Court and No.'s 1, 2, 3, 12 and 18 courts.^[88] In 2015, 595 Service and London Fire Brigade stewards attended.^[89] Only enlisted members of the Armed Forces may apply for the role, which must be taken as leave, and half of each year's recruits must have stewarded at Wimbledon before. The AELTC pays a subsistence allowance to servicemen and women working as stewards to defray their accommodation costs for the period of the Championships. The Service Stewards are not to be confused with the 185 Honorary Stewards.

Tickets

The majority of centre and show court tickets sold to the general public have since 1924 been made available by a public ballot that the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club holds at the start of the year.^[92] The ballot has always been substantially oversubscribed. Successful applicants are selected at random by a computer.^[93] The most recent figures from 2011 suggested there were four applicants to every ballot ticket. Applications must be posted to arrive at the AELTC by the last day of December in the year prior to the tournament. Seats and days are allocated randomly and ballot tickets are not transferable.

The All England Club, through its subsidiary The All England Lawn Tennis Ground plc, issues debentures to tennis fans every five years to raise funds for capital expenditure. Fans who invest thus in the club receive a pair of tickets for every day of the Wimbledon Championships for the five years the investment lasts.^[94] Only debenture holders are permitted to sell on their tickets to third parties and demand for debentures has increased in recent^[when?] years, to such an extent that they are even traded on the London Stock Exchange.^{[citation needed]}

Wimbledon 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 match.^[95] Sequentially numbered queue cards were introduced in 2003. From 2008, there is a single queue, allotted about 500 seats for each court. When they join the queue, fans are handed queue cards. Anyone who then wishes to leave the queue temporarily, even if in possession of a queue card, must agree their position with the others nearby in the queue or a steward.

To get access to the show courts, fans normally have to queue overnight.^[96] This is done by fans from all over the world and, although considered vagrancy^{[citation needed]}, is part of the Wimbledon experience in itself. The All-England Club allows overnight queuing and provides toilet and water facilities for campers. Early in the morning when the line moves towards the Grounds, stewards walk along the line and hand out wristbands that are colour-coded to the specific court. The wrist band (and payment) is exchanged at the ticket office for the ticket when the grounds open. General admission to the grounds gives access to the outer courts and is possible without queuing overnight. Tickets returned by people leaving early go on sale at 2:30 pm and the money goes to charity. Queuing for the show courts ends after the quarter finals have been completed.

At 2.40pm on Day Seven (Monday 28 June) of the 2010 Championships, the one-millionth numbered Wimbledon queue card was handed out to Rose Stanley from South Africa.^[97][98]

Sponsorship

Unlike other tournaments, advertising from major brands is minimal and low key, from suppliers such as IBM, Rolex and Slazenger.^[99][100] Wimbledon is notable for the longest running sponsorship in sports history due to its association with Slazenger who have supplied all tennis balls for the tournament since 1902.^[101] Between 1935 and 2021, Wimbledon had a sponsorship deal with Robinsons fruit squash – one of the longest sponsorships in sport.^[102]

Starting in 2024, Emirates started sponsoring Wimbledon for the first time alongside the Australian Open, French Open and the US Open tennis championships.

Strawberries and cream

Strawberries and cream are traditionally eaten by spectators at Wimbledon and have become culturally synonymous with the tournament. The origin of this tradition has been said to derive from a visit King Henry VIII paid to his Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, whose home was at Hampton Court, about six miles from Wimbledon, when the chancellor's cook is rumoured to have served wild strawberries and cream as a dessert. Since the King ate it, the dessert gained popularity.^[103] In 2017, fans consumed 34,000 kg (33 imperial tons) of British strawberries and 10,000 litres (2,200 imperial gallons) of cream. In 2019, 191,930 portions of strawberries and cream were served at The Championships at Wimbledon.^[104]

The Wimbledon champions' dinner and ball

The Wimbledon Champions' Dinner, formerly known as the Champions' Ball, is an event organized after the end of each edition of the Wimbledon Championships and it is consisted of a dinner and a dance between the Men's and Women's singles winners. A picture of them with their respective trophies is also taken at this event.^{[105][106][107][108]}

In later years, the dance tradition became not mandatory and sporadically returned in some editions of the tournament,^[109] notably, in 2015, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams danced together to the Bee Gees’ "Night Fever" at the dinner, evoking the spirit of the original Champions' Ball.^[110] In 2018, Djokovic invited Angelique Kerber to dance at the dinner.^[111]

In 2024, the champions Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejčíková also danced together. ^[112][113]

In 1977, the dinner was rescheduled to the middle Saturday of the tournament, which resulted in the end of the formal champions' dance tradition.^[114]

In recent years, the Champions' Dinner has been hosted at The Lawn, a hospitality venue located on the grounds of The Wimbledon Club, across from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. It gathers players, their families, and distinguished guests to celebrate the tournament's champions.^[115]

In 2021, the Champions' Dinner was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, marking a rare interruption in the tradition.^[116]

Radio Wimbledon

Until 2011, when its contract ended,^[117] Radio Wimbledon could be heard within a five-mile radius on 87.7 FM, and also online. It operated under a Restricted Service Licence. Presenters included Sam Lloyd and Ali Barton. Typically, they worked alternate four-hour shifts until the end of the last match of the day. Reporters and commentators included Gigi Salmon, Nick Lestor, Rupert Bell, Nigel Bidmead, Guy Swindells, Lucie Ahl, Nadine Towell and Helen Whitaker. Often, they reported from the "Crow's Nest", an elevated building housing the Court 3 and 4 scoreboards which affords views of most of the outside courts. Regular guests included Sue Mappin. In later years, Radio Wimbledon acquired a second low-power FM frequency (within the grounds only) of 96.3 FM for uninterrupted Centre Court commentary, and, from 2006, a third for coverage from No. 1 Court on 97.8 FM. Hourly news bulletins and travel (using RDS) were also broadcast.

Radio Wimbledon's theme tune is called "Purple and Green" and has been used since 1996, when it was composed by British composer Tony Cox.

Television coverage

Beginning with the 2018 tournament, an in-house operation known as Wimbledon Broadcasting Services (WBS) has served as the official host broadcaster of the tournament, replacing BBC Sport.^[118]

Trophies

The Gentlemen's Singles champion is presented with a silver gilt cup 18.5 inches (about 47 cm) in height and 7.5 inches (about 19 cm) in diameter. The trophy is decorated with a variety of symbols, including a miniature gold pineapple. The trophy has been awarded since 1887 and bears the inscription: "All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World". The actual trophy remains the property of the All England Club in their museum, so the champion receives a three-quarter size replica of the Cup bearing the names of all past Champions (height 13.5 inches, 34 cm).^[137]

The Ladies' Singles champion is presented with a sterling silver salver commonly known as the "Venus Rosewater Dish", or simply the "Rosewater Dish". The salver, which is 18.75 inches (about 48 cm) in diameter, is decorated with figures from mythology. The actual dish remains the property of the All England Club in their museum, so the champion receives a miniature replica bearing the names of all past Champions. From 1949 to 2006 the replica was 8 inches in diameter, and since 2007 it has been a three-quarter size replica with a diameter of 13.5 inches.^[137]

The winner of the Gentlemen's Doubles, Ladies' Doubles, and Mixed Doubles events receive silver cups. A trophy is awarded to each player in the Doubles pair, unlike the other Grand Slam tournaments where the winning Doubles duo shares a single trophy. The Gentlemen's Doubles silver challenge cup was originally from the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club and donated to the All England Club in 1884. The Ladies' Doubles Trophy, a silver cup and cover known as The Duchess of Kent Challenge Cup, was presented to the All England Club in 1949 by The Duchess of Kent. The Mixed Doubles Trophy is a silver challenge cup and cover presented to the All England Club by the family of two-time Wimbledon doubles winner Sydney Smith.^[137][138]

The runner-up in each event receives an inscribed silver plate. The trophies are usually presented by the Patron of the All England Club, The Princess of Wales.

Prize money

Prize money was first awarded in 1968, the year that professional players were allowed to compete in the Championships for the first time. Total prize money was £26,150; the winner of the men's title earned £2,000 (equivalent to £43,800 in 2023) while the women's singles champion received £750 (equivalent to £16,400 in 2023)^[139].^[140][141] In 2007, Wimbledon and the French Open became the last grand slam tournaments to award unequal prize money to women and men.^{[142][143][144]}

The bulk of the increases in 2012 were given to players losing in earlier rounds.^[145] This move was in response to the growing angst among lower-ranked players concerning the inadequacy of their pay. Sergiy Stakhovsky, a member of the ATP Player Council and who was at the time ranked 68th, was among the most vocal in the push for higher pay for players who bow out in the earlier rounds. In an interview Stakhovsky intimated that it is not uncommon for lower-ranked players to be in financial debt after playing certain tour events, if they had a poor result.^[146] In 2013 the losers in the earlier singles rounds of the tournament saw a highest 62% increase in their pay while the total prize money of the doubles increased by 22%.The prize money for participants of the qualifying matches saw an increase of 41%.^[147]

Doubles prize money is per team.

Ranking points

Ranking points for the ATP and WTA have varied at Wimbledon through the years but at present, individual players receive the following points:

Past champions

• Gentlemen's singles
• Ladies' singles
• Gentlemen's doubles
• Ladies' doubles
• Mixed doubles
• All champions

Current champions

Most recent finals

More information 2024 Event, Champion ...

2024 Event	Champion	Runner-up	Score
Gentlemen's singles	Carlos Alcaraz	Novak Djokovic	6–2, 6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Ladies' singles	Barbora Krejčíková	Jasmine Paolini	6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Gentlemen's doubles	Harri Heliövaara Henry Patten	Max Purcell Jordan Thompson	6–7(7–9), 7–6(10–8), 7–6(11–9)
Ladies' doubles	Kateřina Siniaková Taylor Townsend	Gabriela Dabrowski Erin Routliffe	7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–1)
Mixed doubles	Jan Zieliński Hsieh Su-wei	Santiago González Giuliana Olmos	6–4, 6–2
Wheelchair gentlemen's singles	Alfie Hewett	Martín de la Puente	6–2, 6–3
Wheelchair ladies' singles	Diede de Groot	Aniek van Koot	6–4, 6–4
Wheelchair quad singles	Niels Vink	Sam Schröder	7–6(7–2), 6–4
Wheelchair gentlemen's doubles	Gordon Reid Alfie Hewett	Takuya Miki Tokito Oda	6–4, 7–6(7–2)
Wheelchair ladies' doubles	Yui Kamiji Kgothatso Montjane	Diede de Groot Jiske Griffioen	6–4, 6–4
Quad doubles	Sam Schröder Niels Vink	Andy Lapthorne Guy Sasson	3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3

Close

Gentlemen since 1877

More information Record, Era ...

Record	Era	Player(s)	Count	Winning years
Most singles titles	Amateur Era	William Renshaw	7	1881–1886, 1889
	Open Era	Roger Federer	8	2003–2007, 2009, 2012, 2017
Most consecutive singles titles	Amateur Era	William Renshaw[k]	6	1881–1886
	Open Era	Björn Borg Roger Federer	5	1976–1980 2003–2007
Most doubles titles	Amateur Era	Reginald Doherty Laurence Doherty	8	1897–1901, 1903–1905
	Open Era	Todd Woodbridge	9	1993–1997, 2000 (with Mark Woodforde), 2002–2004 (with Jonas Björkman)
Most consecutive doubles titles	Amateur Era	Reginald Doherty Laurence Doherty	5	1897–1901
	Open Era	Todd Woodbridge Mark Woodforde		1993–1997
Most mixed doubles titles	Amateur Era	Ken Fletcher Vic Seixas	4	1963, 1965–1966, 1968 (with Margaret Court) 1953–1956 (3 with Doris Hart, 1 with Shirley Fry Irvin)
	Open Era	Owen Davidson Leander Paes		1967, 1971, 1973–1974 (with Billie Jean King) 1999 (with Lisa Raymond), 2003 (with Martina Navratilova), 2010 (with Cara Black), 2015 (with Martina Hingis)
Most Championships (singles, doubles & mixed doubles)	Amateur Era	Laurence Doherty	13	1897–1906 (5 singles, 8 doubles)
	Open Era	Todd Woodbridge	10	1993–2004 (9 doubles, 1 mixed doubles)

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Ladies since 1884

More information Record, Era ...

Record	Era	Player(s)	Count	Winning years
Most singles titles	Amateur Era	Helen Wills	8	1927–1930, 1932–1933, 1935, 1938
	Open Era	Martina Navratilova	9	1978–1979, 1982–1987, 1990
Most consecutive singles titles	Amateur Era	Suzanne Lenglen	5	1919–1923
	Open Era	Martina Navratilova	6	1982–1987
Most doubles titles	Amateur Era	Elizabeth Ryan	12	1914 (with Agatha Morton), 1919–1923, 1925 (with Suzanne Lenglen), 1926 (with Mary Browne), 1927, 1930 (with Helen Wills), 1933–1934 (with Simonne Mathieu)
	Open Era	Martina Navratilova	7	1976 (with Chris Evert), 1979 (with Billie Jean King), 1981–1984, 1986 (with Pam Shriver)
Most consecutive doubles titles	Amateur Era	Suzanne Lenglen Elizabeth Ryan	5	1919–1923
	Open Era	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver // Natasha Zvereva	4	1981–1984 1991 (with Larisa Neiland), 1992–1994 (with Gigi Fernández)
Most mixed doubles titles	Amateur Era	Elizabeth Ryan	7	1919, 1921, 1923 (with Randolph Lycett), 1927 (with Frank Hunter), 1928 (with Patrick Spence), 1930 (with Jack Crawford), 1932 (with Enrique Maier)
	Open Era	Martina Navratilova	4	1985 (with Paul McNamee), 1993 (with Mark Woodforde), 1995 (with Jonathan Stark), 2003 (with Leander Paes)
Most Championships (singles, doubles & mixed doubles)	Amateur Era	Elizabeth Ryan	19	1914–34 (12 doubles, 7 mixed doubles)
	Open Era	Martina Navratilova	20	1976–2003 (9 singles, 7 doubles, 4 mixed doubles)
	Combined	Billie Jean King	20	1961–79 (6 singles, 10 doubles, 4 mixed doubles)

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Miscellaneous

More information Record, M/W ...

Record	M/W	Player(s)	Details	Year(s)
Unseeded champions	Men	Boris Becker Goran Ivanišević	Ranked 20th Ranked 125th	1985 2001
	Women	Markéta Vondroušová	Ranked 42nd	2023
Youngest singles champion	Men	Boris Becker	17 years 7 months	1985
	Women	Lottie Dod	15 years 9 months	1887
Oldest singles champion	Men	Arthur Gore	41 years 6 months	1909
	Women	Charlotte Cooper	37 years 9 months	1908
Lowest-ranked winner	Men	Goran Ivanišević	125th	2001
	Women	Markéta Vondroušová	42nd	2023
Singles winning %	Men	Björn Borg	92.72% (51–4)	1973–1981 (Open era)
	Women	Steffi Graf	90.36% (75–8)	1984–1999 (Open era)
Singles match wins	Men	Roger Federer	105	2001–2021 (Open era)
	Women	Martina Navratilova	120	1973–2004 (Open era)
Most matches played	Men	Jean Borotra	223	1922–39, 1948–64
	Women	Martina Navratilova	326	1973–2006
Most consecutive events played	Men	Arthur Gore[149]	30	1888–1922
	Women	Virginia Wade[150]	26	1960–1985
Longest match by time	Men	John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut	11hrs 5mins	2010
	Women	Chanda Rubin vs Patricia Hy-Boulais	3hrs 45mins[151]	1995
Longest final by time	Men	Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer	4hrs 57mins	2019
	Women	Lindsay Davenport vs Venus Williams	2hrs 45mins	2005
Winners of both junior and senior singles	Men	Björn Borg Pat Cash Stefan Edberg Roger Federer	1972 1982 1983 1998	1976–80 inclusive 1987 1988, 1990 2003–07, 2009, 2012, 2017
	Women	Ashleigh Barty Karen Hantze Ann Haydon Martina Hingis Amélie Mauresmo	2011 1960 1956 1994 1996	2021 1962 1969 (under married name Jones) 1997 2006

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Lists of champions

• List of Wimbledon champions (all events)
  • List of Wimbledon gentlemen's singles champions
  • List of Wimbledon ladies' singles champions
  • List of Wimbledon gentlemen's doubles champions
  • List of Wimbledon ladies' doubles champions
  • List of Wimbledon mixed doubles champions
• List of Wimbledon singles finalists during the Open Era, records and statistics

Other Grand Slam tournaments

• Australian Open
• French Open
• US Open