Overview
The oldest tennis tournament in the world, played on grass in south-west London since 1877.
Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and the only Grand Slam still played on grass. It is held over two weeks from late June at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in south-west London.
Its conventions are as distinctive as its surface: an all-white clothing rule enforced strictly, no sponsor advertising on court, a queue that lets spectators buy ground passes on the day, and strawberries and cream. Play on the middle Sunday, historically a rest day, became standard in 2022.
Season Format
Recent Champions
Most recent first. Seasons still in progress are marked.
History
The first Championships were played in 1877 with a field of 22 men and were won by Spencer Gore. Women's singles was added in 1884. The tournament's grass courts are the last survivor of the surface on which lawn tennis was invented.
Its best-remembered matches are among the sport's defining occasions: Borg against McEnroe in 1980, the tie-break in the fourth set running to 18–16; Federer against Nadal in 2008, finishing in near darkness; Isner against Mahut in 2010, the third round lasting eleven hours and five minutes over three days and ending 70–68.
Roger Federer's eight men's titles are the record; Martina Navratilova's nine women's titles are the most by anyone.
Governance
The Championships are run by the All England Lawn Tennis Club in conjunction with the Lawn Tennis Association, under the Grand Slam Board and the ITF.