wimbledon the basics
Some Facts:
* The longest match ever played at Wimbledon and in the history of professional tennis was played in 2010 between John Isner (USA) and Nicolas Mahut (France), lasting 11 hours and 5 minutes and spanning across three days, from June 22nd-24th, 2010.
* The youngest player to ever compete in the tournament was Mita Klima of Austria, who played in the championships at the age of 13, a record that has stood for 106 years.
* The shortest player to compete at Wimbledon was Gertrude Hoahing, who stood at a mere 4’ 9” tall.
* The traditional English dish of strawberries and cream are eaten by spectators at the tournament, and 61,730 pounds of strawberries and 7,397 quarts of fresh cream are consumed over the two-week championship.
* Wimbledon is one of the few sporting events that prohibit advertising around its courts.
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* In 1998, a men’s singles match was interrupted when a mouse ran onto the court during play.
* To ward off pigeons, Wimbledon uses a hawk named Hamish who flies over the grounds at nine AM each morning.
* The loudest tennis grunt ever recorded came from Maria Sharapova during the 2009 championship, coming in at 105 decibels, or the equivalent of standing three feet from a motorcycle.
* Wimbledon tradition requires all players to wear predominantly white clothing.
* The players with the most men’s singles titles are: William Renshaw, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, all with 7 championship titles. The player with the most men’s doubles titles is Todd Woodbridge, with 9 championship titles.
* The player with the most women’s singles titles is Martina Navratilova with 9 titles, and the female player with the most doubles titles is Elizabeth Ryan with 12 titles.
Now that you are a little bit more acquainted with the world of professional tennis, hopefully you will be able to enjoy tuning in to the 137th Wimbledon Championships this June with less confusion than ever before!
-Allan D.