Wimbledon: The All England Club

A quintessentially British tradition, the Wimbledon Championships are the world’s oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament – synonymous with pristine lawn courts, royal patronage, dazzling white attire and, of course, beloved strawberries and cream

GRASS COURT MASTERS: Novak Djokovic (right) returned to pinnacle of men’s tennis with stellar victory at Roland Garros, and now aims for eighth Wimbledon title to equal Roger Federer’s record

Wins at Wimbledon (Open Era, men):

Roger Federer SUI Matches W / L: 105 / 14
Novak Djokovic SRB 86/10
Jimmy Connors USA 84/18
Boris Becker GER 71/12
Pete Sampras USA 63/7

GRAND SLAM GURU: Djokovic can equal Margaret Court’s (inset, below) all-time record – for men or women – with 24th major singles title on Centre Court

Most Grand Slam singles titles (All-time, men / women):

Australian Open 
Roland Garros 
Wimbledon 
U.S. Open

Margaret Court (24) 
Novak Djokovic (23) 
Serena Williams (23) 
Rafael Nadal (22) 
Steffi Graf (22) 
Roger Federer (20)

QUEENS OF CENTRE COURT: Sisters Venus and Serena Williams dominate early 2000s – winning 12 titles between them and playing each other in four finals

Wins at Wimbledon (Open Era, women):
Martina Navratilova USA Matches W / L: 120 / 14 
Serena Williams USA 98/14
Chris Evert USA 96/15
Venus Williams USA 90/18
Steffi Graf GER 74/7

Serena Williams
Holds record for longest span between first and last titles at Wimbledon – 14 years

Venus Rosewater Dish
First presented to champion of challenge round in 1886

21st Century Renovation
Centre Court: Completion of retractable roof in 2009 allows play to continue in case of rain

Plaza entrance
Practice courts

GROUND LAYOUT
No. 1 Court: Capacity: 12,000. 
Retractable roof installed 2019
Wimbledon Museum
Centre Court 15,000
No.2 Court 4,000

World No. 1
Novak Djokovic
Four-time defending champion at SW19


Timeline of a British Institution

1868: All England Croquet Club is founded

1877 Inaugural championships at Worlpe Road attract field of 22 men. Spencer Gore (GBR, right) is first winner

1884: Ladies’ singles and men’s doubles introduced. Maud Watson (GBR) is first female champion

1900s May Sutton (USA, 1905) and Norman Brookes (AUS, 1907) are first foreign winners

1922
Defending Ladies’ champion Suzanne Lenglen (FRA, right) and Gerald Patterson (AUS) claim first titles on new Centre Court at Church Road grounds

1924-29: France’s “Four Musketeers” – René Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Jacques Brugnon – dominate court

1934-36 Fred Perry (GBR, left) wins three consecutive singles titles

1937: First television coverage by BBC

1940: Centre Court is bombed during World War II – damage not repaired until 1947

1950s: Teenager Maureen Connolly (USA) wins three successive trophies. Althea Gibson (USA) becomes first black champion

1968: Open Era begins as professional players return. Rod Laver (AUS) and Billie Jean King take titles

1975 Arthur Ashe (USA, right) becomes first black player to win men's singles 

1976-80 Heartthrob Bjorn Borg wins five consecutive titles. Virginia Wade (GBR) triumphs in 1977, Queen’s Silver Jubilee year

1980s Fan favourites John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Martina Navratilova are centre stage

1990s Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf (left) dominate proceedings

2003: Roger Federer wins first of eight trophies

2008: Rafael Nadal (ESP) beats Federer in arguably greatest Wimbledon final

2009: Retractable roof used for first time

2012 Centre Court hosts Olympic Games, with Andy Murray (GBR) and Serena Williams winning singles gold medals

2013 Crowd erupts as Murray (left) becomes first British Wimbledon men’s champion for 77 years

2019: Novak Djokovic beats Federer in longest Wimbledon final – 4 hours, 57 minutes

2022: Championships mark centenary of Centre Court, with play on Middle Sunday
for first time


Roll call of champions
MOST CHAMPIONSHIPS (OPEN ERA)

1978, 79, 82-87, 90    Martina Navratilova USA 9
1988, 89, 91-93, 95, 96  Steffi Graf GER 7
2002, 03, 09, 10, 12, 15, 16  Serena Williams USA 7
2000, 01, 05, 07, 08 Venus Williams USA 5
1968, 72, 73, 75 Billie Jean King USA 4
1974, 76, 81 Chris Evert USA 3

Roger Federer SUI 2003-07, 09, 12, 17 8
Novak Djokovic SRB 2011, 14, 15 2018-22* 7
Pete Sampras USA 1993-95, 1997-2000 7
Bjorn Borg SWE 1976-80 5
John McEnroe USA 1981, 83, 84 3 
Boris Becker GER 1985, 86, 89 3



Roger Federer 

Sources: Wimbledon, ATP, WTA
Pictures: Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS
*2020 tournament cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic