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Wimbledon remains the crown jewel of tennis .The championship caters for just under half a million visitors each year and is held on 20 courts. Wimbledon Centre court and Number One court are the two showcases of the tournament. This year -2004, the championship starts on Monday 23rd of June and finishes ( that's rain stoppages permitting ) on Sunday the 6th of July.
Wimbledon tickets demand always outstrips supply ,we strongly recommend that you obtain your tickets as early as possible. The last few days of the championship see tickets prices rocketing as demand outstrip supply, and still you will not find any empty seats available. Wimbledon is situated in the southwest of London, SW19, about 6 miles or 10 km from central London
The venue has car parks which are well positioned next to the tennis grounds. Alternative regular transport is provided by tube ( subway ) , also at taxi ranks and designated coach pick up points , buses and railway transport have been specifically assigned to the championship . The tennis tournament is organized and supervised with expected typical English efficiency.
All the necessary secondary services, from banking ,police supervision and medical emergency assistance are well catered for. The English Grand Slam is a unique tennis experience . What are you waiting for? Shouldn't you be coming to Wimbledon ?
Facts file about Wimbledon:
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that still uses grass and is the biggest tennis event of the year.There are 20 grass courts available for play. Wimbledon Number 1 Court now comes complete with large fans at either end to dry out the court in case of rain. There are also five red shale courts, four clay courts, and five indoor courts for club members.
The referee can decide whether players are dressed appropriately
The new translucent cover was introduced onto the Centre Court in 1998 and weighs 1 ton (wet and dry)
Women's fashions have caused a similar stir. When Gussie Moran wore a short, lace trimmed skirt in 1949 she was accused by the AELTC of 'bringing vulgarity and sin into tennis' Quite a contrast to the revealing clothing sported by today's women players!
It takes 17 people 30 seconds to cover the court
Approximately 25,000 petunias, 26,000 geraniums and 3,500 hydrangeas are supplied each year
35% of the viewers of Wimbledon worldwide made more than $50,000 annually
Great Britain is 5 hours ahead of E.S.T. If it's 8:00am in Boston, it's 1:00pm in London. Great Britain is one hour ahead of its continental cousins (France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Germany) but in the same time zone as the Republic of Ireland and Portugal.
Slazenger has provided every tennis ball for The Championships Wimbledon since 1902.
The Royal box contains 75 dark green Lloyd Loom wicker chairs
The guest list is released on the day for security reasons
The shortest person to play tennis at Wimbledon was Miss C.G. Hoahing who was just 4'9. She was once mistaken for a garden gnome and used to decorate the colorful flower gardens around Wimbledon's tennis courts.
Women's singles and men's doubles were introduced in 1884 and women's doubles and mixed doubles in 1913
Wimbledon earns $14 million from sponsorships alone
A wooden racket was last used at Wimbledon in 1987.
Wimbledon moved to its present site in Church Road in 1922.
At Wimbledon, men must play up to 5 sets to win, while women only play 3 sets
The youngest men's singles champion on record is Boris Becker, who won the title in 1985 when he was 17 years, 227 days.
IBM and Rolex are the most prominent sponsors of the game. They dole out millions of dollars in sponsorship fees...
British Player Greg Rusedski has the world's fastest serve, clocked at a staggering 149 mph. In 1999 he served 685 aces, accounting for 79% of all his points for the year.
Venus Williams became the second African American woman to win the GrandSlam title at the 2000 Wimbledon tennis competition, which is held annually inEngland. She follows the progress made by Althea Gibson, an American whowon the Wimbledon competition in 1957 and 1958
NBC TV will pay $ 52 Million in annual rights fee for the next 4 years to Wimbledon
The last married woman to win the women's singles championship was Chris Evert Lloyd in 1981.
New balls are supplied after every 7 to 9 games. 1,250 dozen balls are used during the tournament.
The traditions of Wimbledon, such as the rule that the players must wear predominantly white, referring to players as "Mr", "Mrs" and "Miss",
The youngest women's singles champion is Charlotte Dod, who won the title in 1887 when she was 15 years, 285 days.
May Sutton of the United States became the first non-European champion in 1905 when she captured the women's singles title
Each year, 24 tons of Kent strawberries are ordered for The Championships at Wimbledon.
The oldest men's singles champion is Arthur Gore, who won the title in 1909 at 41 years, 182 days.
The Ladies' Singles Trophy is a silver salver, sometimes referred to as the 'Rosewater Dish' or 'Venus Rosewater Dish' which was first won by the Champion when the challenge round was introduced in 1886.
Commencing in 1949 all champions have received a miniature replica of the trophy (diameter 8 inches).
In 1967, the first match was sent on colour TV. It was a BBC production.
27,000 kilos of strawberries are eaten at Wimbledon Tennis Championships along with about 7,000 litres of cream.
Over 300 pupils from local schools compete annually for the prestige of being one of the 200 ball boys/girls at The Championships. Ball boys and girls drawn solely from local schools since 1969 and 1977, respectively.
In 1976, the Swedish player Björn Borg won his first Singles title.
The oldest women's singles champion is Charlotte Sterry, who won the title in 1908 at 37 years, 282 days.
In 1977, the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum was opened
The Tournament starts each year six weeks before the first Monday in August and lasts for a fortnight or for as long as necessary to complete all events. Players from over 60 nations regularly compete.
© www.wimbledontennis.co.uk
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