Dear George,
The 2026 Wimbledon tennis championships begin tomorrow. Katja and I have watched Wimbledon since at least the 1970’s. So many legends: Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Chrissy Evert, Martina Navratilova, Ivan Lendl. The list goes on and on. In the early days TV carried only the men’s and women’s finals. Now there at least 12 hours of coverage per day on ESPN, ESPN+, and the Tennis Channel. Our TVs will be running nonstop.
Wimbledon is regarded as the world’s premier tennis tournament. It’s also the oldest. The All England Croquet Club was founded in Wimbledon, England, in 1868. In 1876 lawn tennis was added to the club’s activities, and its name was changed to the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. The first Wimbledon championship was held in July 1877. 22 men paid a guinea apiece to enter the event which was held over five days. Spencer Gore defeated William Marshall 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in 48 minutes, and he was awarded prize money of 12 guineas. The Ladies’ Singles competition was added in 1884, and Ladies’ doubles and mixed doubles were added in 1913. In 1913 a suffragette was arrested around midnight when she climbed over a hedge with paraffin and wood shavings in order to set fire to the grounds. The tournament was discontinued during World Wars I and II and during the pandemic in 2020. A German bomb hit the side of Centre Court in 1940. No British man won Wimbledon between Fred Perry in 1936 and Andy Murray in 2013, and no British woman has won since Virginia Wade in 1977.
There are 128 players in the men’s draw and in the women’s draw. The top women’s seeds this year are: 1. Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus); 2. Elena Rybakina (Kazakhasetan); 3. Iga Swiatek (Poland); and 4. Jessica Pegula. The top men’s seeds are: 1. Jannik Sinner (Italy); 2. Alexander Zverev (Germany); 3. Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada); and 4. Ben Shelton (U.S.). We are rooting for Novak Djokovic (Serbia, seeded 7th) and Coco Gauff (U.S., also seeded 7th). If Djokovic wins, it will be his 25th Grand Slam title — the most by any man in tennis history. If Gauff wins at age 22, it will be her third Grand Slam title. Both the men’s winner and the women’s winner will receive $3 million pounds in prize money.
Compared to the other Grand Slams (Australian, French, U.S. Open), a number of things make Wimbledon unique. It’s the only Grand Slam that is played on grass, the surface which generates the fastest tennis. The grass is cut to exactly 8 millimeters on every championship court. It’s also the only Grand Slam with a curfew (11 p.m.) Players are required to wear all-white or near-white. Women are not allowed on the court if they wear tops that show too much cleavage. It’s estimated that about 54,000 tennis balls are used each year in the tournament. Slazenger has provided all the balls since 1902. Fans can buy a used can after the tournament for about $2.50. Advertising at Wimbledon is minimal and low-key. Every morning a Harris hawk named Rufus is set free and circles the sky above the courts to scare away local pigeons. Attendees traditionally enjoy strawberries and cream, a tradition stemming back to King Henry VIII. Over 190,000 portions of strawberries and cream were served in a recent year. Traditionally players have bowed or curtsied to members of the royal family seated in the Royal Box on Centre Court, although since 2023 they are only required to do so if the Prince of Wales or the King is present. In 2024 line judges were replaced by electronic line calling technology. Demand for Centre Court matches far exceeds the available tickets (about a four to one ratio), and a lottery systems is used to sell tickets. Fans who want to buy tickets to the secondary courts normally have to wait in line overnight.
As someone who grew up before television arrived in my hometown, having Wimbledon available in our living room is nothing short of a miracle. While I won’t watch every minute, I’m certain to watch every day. Go CoCo! Go Novak!
Love,
George
Sources:
www.evanevanstours.com, “Weird and wonderful facts about Wimbledon”.
www.historic-uk.com, “History of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships”
www.thetimes.com, “Wimbledon 2026”
www.wikipedia.org, “Wimbledon Championships”
