- It is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament played on grass
- 28,000 kg of English strawberries and 7,000 litres of cream are eaten at Wimbledon
- Russian and Belarus players were barred from playing at Wimbledon in 2022
- Tennis balls are replaced every 9 games
- The 2022 Wimbledon BBC coverage of the tournament was watched by 53.8 million people
- Wimbledon can seat 42,000 people
- Just over 6,000 staff were taken on for Wimbledon 2022
- Wimbledon’s Centre Court celebrated 100 years in 2022
- Wimbledon winners get £2,000,000 each in prize money
Love tennis? Find out everything you need to know about Wimbledon in 2022/23. Firstly some general background to get those Slazenger balls bouncing.
Brief Background To Wimbledon
There are four large annual tennis tournaments in the world － the Grand Slams － which have tennis fans glued to their couches. Only Wimbledon is still played on grass, which makes for the fastest game of tennis.
The French Open is played on clay while the US and Australian open are played on hard courts. This is the reason behind the term “lawn tennis”.
Wimbledon is the largest and possibly most famous lawn tennis tournament in the world. It is held over two weeks in late June and early July every year.
Currently, the tournament’s format consists of four junior and four invitation competitions together with the five big matches – the women’s single and double matches, the men’s single and double matches and a mixed doubles match.
The 1967 Wimbledon tournament was the first TV broadcast in colour ever.
Wimbledon’s Trophies
The men’s singles winner trophy is a silver gilt cup engraved with “The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World” dating from 1877. In 2009, a black plinth adorned with a silver band was added to make room for more names.
The Women’s singles winner trophy is a sterling silver salver called the Rosewater Dish that dates back to 1886. For each of the doubles tournaments, the winners are presented with a silver challenge cup.
The awarding of prize money only started in 1968, the same year the tournament opened its doors to professional players.
Prize money parity in terms of gender was only introduced in 2007.
Famous Wimbledon Traditions
It is almost as famous for its strawberries and cream as it is for its tennis. It is estimated that 28,000 kilograms of English strawberries and 7000 litres of cream are eaten each year. The price of a portion of 10 strawberries and cream at Wimbledon has remained at £2.50 since 2010. The strawberries are grown in Kent. They are picked at 4am, collected at 9am and delivered to the club ready for the 11am opening.
Pimm’s cups, the strict all-white dress code, Royal patronage, waiting in lines and the odd shower of rain are also associated with Wimbledon.
Wimbledon is not the oldest tennis tournament in the world nor is the game of tennis strictly the preserve of the British. That title is held by The America’s Cup in first place, The US Open in second place and third is the FA Cup before Wimbledon in fourth place.
In 2022, the Lawn Tennis Association barred players from Russia and Belarus from competing at any of the tournaments held in the United Kingdom, which led to Wimbledon being stripped of its ranking points.
Wimbledon Facts
Balls: The supply of tennis balls has been filled by Slazenger since 1902. Yellow balls were introduced in 1986. Balls are replaced every 9 games.
Broadcast Viewing Statistics: Wimbledon 2022’s BBC coverage set an online viewing record of 53.8 million.
Grounds’ Capacity: Some 42,000 spectators can be accommodated in the grounds. The re-selling of used or unwanted tickets for charity creates turnover so the cumulative daily figure can be even higher.
That Clothing Rule: Competitors must be dressed in suitable tennis attire that is mostly white. Both the Grand Slam and WTA rules call for recognised tennis attire. A referee has the discretion on the day to rule on whether a player’s clothing is suitable.
The 2022 Coin Toss: The Wimbledon Foundation invited residents of the Merton and Wandsworth areas in London to nominate an inspiring youngster who had done sterling work in their communities during the pandemic. Two 13-year-olds were nominated: Gabia Sakaviciute from Merton for the Women’s Singles Final and Dylan Mulvey from Wandsworth for the Men’s Singles Final.
Two custom-made platinum coins were minted for the 2022 finals by the World Platinum Investment Council to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee alongside the Centre Court’s Centenary.
Facts About Centre Court & Court 1
Centre court has 14,979 seats. 15,000 is the maximum seating capacity. Around 8 litres of fresh air per person are pumped into the bowl to manage the environment per second. There are around 10 chiller units to cool the air. It takes about 10 minutes for the automated roof to close fully.
The capacity of Court 1 is 12,345 and play starts daily at 1pm sharp.
Electronic Line Calling
The electronic line calling system was introduced on Centre and No.1 courts in 2006. It was added to No.2 and No.3 courts in 2019 together with Courts 12-18.
Fastest Serves Of All Time
Men: 148mph – Taylor Dent, USA (2010)
Women: 129mph – Venus Williams, USA (2008)
Wimbledon On Social Media In 2022
How does Wimbledon score in the digital world and on social media?
- Championships video views – 380 million
- Facebook – 4.75 million likes
- Twitter – 3.7 million followers
- Instagram – 2.2 million likes
- YouTube – 553 k subscribers
- Giphy (owned by Meta) – 750.7 million views
- TikTok – 53 k likes
- The Wimbledon Channel – 17 million globally (excluding Spain, Austria, Italy, Germany, China).
Wimbledon And The Media
There are around 3,250 accredited media comprising about 530-550 press, 2,500 broadcast media, more than 200 photographers and photographic support staff.
2022 Wimbledon Official Partners
- Slazenger Official Ball (since 1902)
- Rolex Official Timekeeper (since 1978)
- IBM Official Supplier of Information Technology (since 1990)
- Lanson Official Champagne (since 2001)
- Ralph Lauren Official Outfitter (since 2006)
- HSBC Official Banking Partner (since 2008)
- Evian Official Bottled Water (since 2008)
- Lavazza Official Coffee (since 2011)
- Jaguar Official Car (since 2015)
- Pimm’s (since 2017)
- American Express Official Payment (since 2019)
- Oppo Official Smartphone (since 2019)
- Sipsmith Official Gin (since 2020)
- Vodafone Official Connectivity Partner (since 2022)
- Babolat Official Stringer and Partner of Tennis Rackets, Strings, Bags and Shoes (since 2022).
Staffing And Support In 2022
Just over 6,000 staff were employed for Wimbledon in 2022. Besides the ball boys and girls, Groundstaff, court attendants, data collectors and housekeeping staff etc, auxiliary specialists such as 22 physiotherapists, 2 podiatrists and 370 Umpires, Chair and Line managers were taken on.
Wimbledon 2023 Facts & Stats
The dates for Wimbledon 2023 are Monday 3rd July 2023 to the men’s singles final on Sunday 16th July 2023. This year, the tournament is starting a week later because of changes in schedules from the All England Club.
The middle Sunday will feature a full day of play once again after being introduced in 2022.
2023 Wimbledon Ticket Prices
Tickets for both the women’s and men’s singles finals on Centre Court, will rise by £15 ($17/€17) to £255. The price for entry on the opening two days of Wimbledon will rise by £5 to £80.
The price increase comes after Wimbledon bosses launched a ticketing review after a number of empty seats during the first week of 2022 Wimbledon. It was found the 2022 championships had missed its sales target by 25,000, despite the All England Club posting a record attendance of 515,164.
The venue has 18 championship courts, including the show courts – Centre Court, No 1 Court and No 2 Court.
2023 Wimbledon Defending Champions
Novak Djokovic is the defending men’s singles champion. The Serb defeated Australian Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to win his seventh title and 21st Grand Slam title. Djokovic is one behind the all-time record holder in men’s tennis, Rafael Nadal (with 22 Slams).
Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina won the 2022 women’s singles title when she beat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, 3-6 6-2 6-2. It was her first Grand Slam title.
Changes At 2023 Wimbledon
This year, the men’s doubles event will be played in a best-of-three sets format as compared to the best-of-five sets format that was used until 2022.
2023 Wimbledon Prize Money
The prize money for Wimbledon champions is quite substantial. The winners get £2,000,000 each and the runner up wins £1,050,000. The Semi-finalist wins £535,000 while the Quarter-finalist wins £310,000.
The Fourth round winner is awarded £190,000 while the Third round winner wins £120,000. The second round gets £78,000 and the first round winner gets £50,000.
Wimbledon is the UK’s top live sporting show and it injects a lot of money into local economies, particularly in tourism and hospitality with the massive influx of visitors.
Interesting Wimbledon Facts
Have you ever wondered what grass is grown on the Wimbledon Courts which gives such a fast tennis game? It’s 100% rye grass and is kept at an exact playing height of 8mm.
Did you know there is a specially trained Harris Hawk that patrols the grounds to deter pigeons from making their home in the grounds all year round. During Wimbledon, the hawk is released for a 1 hour deterrent patrol at 9am before each day’s play. The Hawk’s name is Rufus.
As Wimbledon attracts around 790 players there is no doubt it is a mega-event. And did you know a woman runs the whole show.
Sally Bolton is the CEO of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, the club that hosts the Championships.
For the full 2023 match schedule, visit www.wimbledon.com.
Sources:
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-History-of-the-Wimbledon-Tennis-Championships/
https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/a-miscellaneous-history-of-wimbledon/
https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/atoz/faq_and_facts_and_figures.html
https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sport/tennis/wimbledon-2023-date/