What Is Wimbledon In Tennis?
Wimbledon is one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. It is played every year in June at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England. Read on to learn more about Wimbledon, including its history, its format, and what players receive for winning.
- Website: https://www.wimbledon.com/
- Founded: 1877
- Location: London England, United Kingdom
- Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Worple Road (1877-1921), Church Road (since 1922)
- Surface: Grass outdoors
- Prize money: £40.35 million (2022)
History
The first-ever Wimbledon was held at the All England club in 1877. Originally the grass lawns were intended for playing croquet. The tradition has held up as Wimbledon is still played at the All England Club today, though now the lawns are specifically designed for playing tennis. After the first men's match in 1877, the tournament added a women’s bracket in 1884. In the same year, they also added the men's doubles bracket.
Until 1968, Wimbledon was just for amateur tennis players, which meant that professional players could not compete. In 1968, though, the rules changed to allow both amateurs and pros to play in the tournament. This opened up the tournament to a whole new level of competition, which is part of the reason why it’s so well respected today.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament to be played on a grass court, and has been played on grass throughout its entire history. Therefore, competitors must adjust. Grass courts are known to be very fast and have the highest court pace rating according to ITF rankings, which means the athletes must react even faster.
Format
Wimbledon is the oldest of the four Grand Slam tournaments in tennis. There are multiple different brackets, including men's singles, women's singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. There are also brackets for wheelchair singles and doubles tennis matches as well as respective boys and girls tournaments for youth tennis players to compete in.
The Wimbledon tournament normally takes place in a single elimination format over a two-week period where players compete to move further in the bracket. Once there are four players left (in the case of singles play) or eight players left (in the case of doubles play), that is known as the semifinal. The two winners of the semifinal matches face off in the final, and then a winner person or pair is crowned. Winners receive both a trophy and an amount of prize money respective to their portion of the tournament.
Ranking Points and Prize Money
Besides receiving a trophy, winners at Wimbledon also receive a cash prize and a certain amount of ranking points. Winners of the men’s and women’s singles competitions take home £2 million each, while doubles winners receive £540,000 per team.
The winners of the men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, and women’s doubles all receive 2,000 ranking points for their respective tours.
FAQ
Who won the 2022 Wimbledon tournament?
In 2022, the men’s singles winner at Wimbledon was Novak Djokovic and the women’s singles winner was Elena Rybakina. The men’s doubles winners were Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell, and the women’s doubles winners were Barbora Krejčíková and Katerina Siniaková. The mixed doubles winners were Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawzyk.
How much does the winner of Wimbledon get?
In 2022, the total prize money at Wimbledon amounted to over $43 million. Both the men’s and women's winners of the singles tournament received about $2.2 million dollars. In past years, the prize pot has been even higher. The tournament in 2019, for example, awarded the singles winners almost $3 million.
Who goes to Wimbledon?
Any member of the public can attend, but many celebrities and even British royalty have attended in the past. From past tennis stars to even major actors and actresses, all kinds of famous people come from around the world to watch the tournament in person. The British royal family also has a special connection with the tournament because it takes place in England. They even have their own special box seating in the center court stadium where the most important matches are held. Queen Elizabeth II attended Wimbledon four times before she passed.
What type of tennis court is used at Wimbledon?
The oldest grand slam of the four major tournaments, Wimbledon, has used grass tennis courts throughout its rich history and still does to this date. Specifically, Wimbledon uses perennial ryegrass cut short to just eight millimeters to produce its tennis courts. As mentioned, grass courts feature consistent bounces that are generally low and fast. This is why Roger Federer is considered to be the king of Wimbledon and grass courts by many, as these bounces are a perfect fit for his playing style.