1.
Grand Slam (tennis)
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The Grand Slam tournaments, also called majors, are the four most important annual tennis events. They offer the most ranking points, prize money, public and media attention, the greatest strength and size of field, and greater number of best of sets for men. The Grand Slam itinerary consists of the Australian Open in mid January, the French Open in May and June, Wimbledon in June and July, each tournament is played over a period of two weeks. The Australian and United States tournaments are played on courts, the French on clay. Wimbledon is the oldest, founded in 1877, followed by the US in 1881, the French in 1891, however, of these four, only Wimbledon was a major before 1924/25, the time when all four became designated Grand Slam tournaments. In doubles, one team may accomplish a Grand Slam playing together or one player may achieve it with different partners, the term Grand Slam without qualification refers to winning the four majors in a single calendar year. Winning the gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in addition to the four majors in a one year is known as a Golden Grand Slam or more commonly the Golden Slam. Also, winning the Year-End Championship in the period is known as a Super Slam. Together, all four Majors in all three disciplines are called a set of Grand Slam titles. No male or female player has won all events in one calendar year. The term slam for winning all of the tricks in the whist family card games is attested early in the 17th century. Grand slam for all of the tricks, in contrast to small slam or little slam for all but one and this use was inherited by contract bridge, a modern development of whist defined in 1925 that became very popular in Britain and America by 1930. Grand slam has been used in golf since 1930, when Bobby Jones won the four major championships, before that time only three events, Wimbledon, the World Hard Court Championships and the World Covered Court Championships were considered the premier international tennis events by the ILTF. Tony Wilding of New Zealand won all three of those majors in one year –1913. It has been possible to complete a Grand Slam in most years, phil Dent has pointed out that skipping Grand Slam tournaments—especially the Australian Open—was not unusual then, before counting Grand Slam titles became the norm. Nevertheless, except for the 1969 and 1971 tournaments, many of the best players missed this championship until 1982, because of the remoteness, the inconvenient dates, the tournament was won by Arthur Ashe. The first definitive Grand Slam, of the current four majors, was accomplished when Don Budge won all four mens singles Majors in 1938, to date,17 players have completed a Grand Slam, though only six in the most prestigious singles titles. The four Junior disciplines, boys and girls singles and doubles, Players are only eligible from age 13 to 18, with 18-year-olds likely to hold a physical advantage
2.
Grass court
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A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as lawn tennis, is played. Grass courts are made of grasses in different compositions depending on the tournament, although grass courts are more traditional than other types of tennis courts, maintenance costs of grass courts are higher than those of hard courts and clay courts. Grass courts must be left for the day if rain appears, Grass courts are most common in Britain, although the Northeastern United States also has some private grass courts. Because grass courts tend to be slippery, the ball often skids and bounces low while retaining most of its speed, in addition, there are often bad bounces. As a result, players must reach the ball relative to other surfaces. A grass-court favours a serve and volley style of play, all have won at least five grand slam singles titles on grass, Navratilova won twelve, Court won eight, while King, Sampras, Graf, Serena Williams and Federer each won seven. Sampras is lauded by many analysts as one of the greatest grass-court players of all time. He won seven Wimbledon singles titles in eight years from 1993 through 2000, the most successful male player currently is Roger Federer, a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion. His variety in the shots, speed, footwork, and slices, are his biggest weapons, before being beaten in 2008 at Wimbledon by Rafael Nadal, Federer had a 65-match winning streak on grass, and 40 consecutive wins at Wimbledon alone. The most successful female players currently playing are Serena Williams and her sister Venus Williams, with seven, Venus has won five out of her eight Wimbledon finals appearances and achieving five titles in the ladies doubles with her sister. The professional grass court season is comparatively short, in 2015 it was extended, with an extra week between the French Open and Wimbledon. In the ATP Tour, the Stuttgart Open became a court tournament in 2015, and in 2017 a new ATP250 tournament is being hosted in Antalya. In the WTA Tour Mallorca will host a grass court tournament beginning in 2016, clay court hardcourt carpet court LTA – Grass Court Guidance
3.
Wimbledon, London
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Wimbledon had a population of 68,187 in 2011 which includes the electoral wards of Abbey, Dundonald, Hillside, Trinity, Village, Raynes Park and Wimbledon Park. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, Wimbledon has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age when the hill fort on Wimbledon Common is thought to have been constructed. In 1087 when the Domesday Book was compiled, Wimbledon was part of the manor of Mortlake, the village developed with a stable rural population coexisting alongside nobility and wealthy merchants from the city. The location of the station shifted the focus of the subsequent growth away from the original village centre. Since 2005, the north and west of the Borough has been represented in Westminster by Stephen Hammond, the eastern and southern of the Borough are represented by Siobhain McDonagh, a Labour MP. It has established minority groups, among the most prominent are British Asians, British Ghanaians, Wimbledon has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age when the hill fort on Wimbledon Common, the second-largest in London, is thought to have been constructed. The original nucleus of Wimbledon was at the top of the close to the common – the area now known locally as the village. The village is referred to as Wimbedounyng in a signed by King Edgar the Peaceful in 967. The name Wimbledon means Wynnmans hill, with the element of the name being the Old English dun. At the time the Domesday Book was compiled, Wimbledon was part of the manor of Mortlake, the ownership of the manor of Wimbledon changed hands many times during its history. The manor was held by the church until 1398 when Thomas Arundel, the manor was confiscated and became crown property. The manor remained crown property until the reign of Henry VIII when it was granted briefly to Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, until Cromwell was executed in 1540 and the land was again confiscated. The manor was held by Henry VIIIs last wife and widow Catherine Parr until her death in 1548 when it again reverted to the monarch. In the 1550s, Henrys daughter, Mary I, granted the manor to Cardinal Reginald Pole who held it until his death in 1558 when it again become royal property. Marys sister, Elizabeth I held the property until 1574 when she gave the house to Christopher Hatton who sold it in the same year to Sir Thomas Cecil. The lands of the manor were given to the Cecil family in 1588, the Cecil family retained the manor for fifty years before it was bought by Charles I in 1638 for his Queen, Henrietta Maria. On his death in 1677 the manor was sold on again to the Lord High Treasurer, Thomas Osborne, the Osborne family sold the manor to Sir Theodore Janssen in 1712. Janssen, a director of the South Sea Company, began a new house to replace the Cecil-built manor house but, due to the collapse of the company
4.
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
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The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All-England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, initially an amateur event that occupied club members and their friends for a few days each summer, the championships have become far more prominent than the club itself. However, it operates as a members tennis club, with many courts in use all year round. To become a full or temporary member, an applicant must obtain letters of support from four existing full members, the name is then added to the Candidates List. Honorary Members are elected from time to time by the clubs Committee, membership carries with it the right to purchase two tickets for each day of the Wimbledon Championships. The patron of the club is Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and the President is The Duke of Kent. The Club was founded by six gentlemen at the offices of The Field on 23 July 1868 at the height of a croquet craze as the All England Croquet Club and its original ground was situated off Worple Road, Wimbledon. Croquet was very popular there until the then-infant sport of lawn tennis was introduced in 1875, the first tennis Gentlemens Championship in Singles was held in July 1877, when the Club changed its name to The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. That year at Wimbledon service was underarm, the champion, Spencer Gore, opined that Lawn tennis will never rank among our great games. In 1878 the height of the net was altered to 4 feet 9 inches at the posts and 3 feet at the centre, in 1882, croquet was dropped from the name, as tennis had become the main activity of the Club. But in 1899 it was restored to the Clubs name for reasons. In 1884, the Club added Ladies Singles and Gentlemens Doubles, for the 1908 Summer Olympics, the venue hosted the Grass Courts tennis events. The early Club colours were found to be almost identical to those of the Royal Marines, so they were changed in 1909 to the present Club colours of dark green, the current Centre Court dates from that year. It has been improved and extended on several occasions, most recently a sliding roof was added in time for the 2009 Championships. In 1924 the old No.1 Court opened on the west side of Centre Court, at 5,20 p. m. on October 11,1940, five 500 pound German bombs struck the grounds, demolishing 1,200 seats in Centre Court. The old No.1 Court was replaced with the current No.1 Court in 1997, shortly afterwards, the Millennium Building, which houses facilities for players, press, officials and members, was built on the site of the old No.1 Court. The Church Road site initially extended only as far north as Centre Court, in 1967 the All England Club purchased 11 acres to the north. This was leased to the New Zealand Sports and Social Club and it is most commonly known as Henman Hill because of the popularity of former British tennis player, Tim Henman
5.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
6.
William Renshaw
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William Willie Charles Renshaw was a former World number 1 tennis player from Great Britain active during the late 19th century. Additionally he won the title five times together with his brother Ernest. The right-hander was known for his power and technical ability which put him ahead of competition at the time and he was the first president of the British Lawn Tennis Association. Renshaw won a total of twelve Wimbledon titles, seven of those were in singles, an all-time record he shares with Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. The first six were consecutive, an achievement which has been unequaled to this day, in singles play he played his twin brother Ernest Renshaw three times in the Wimbledon final, triumphing on all three occasions. He was unable to defend his title in 1887 due to an elbow, the first time this injury received public attention. The other five titles were in the Gentlemens doubles, partnering with Ernest, additionally, he and his brother dominated the sport for many years in a time when the only other Grand Slam was the US Open, and by custom players did not travel far. The rise in popularity of tennis in this became known as the Renshaw Rush. In 1888 William was elected the first president of the British Lawn Tennis Association, in 1983, William Renshaw was elected posthumously into the International Tennis Hall of Fame together with his brother. He died in Swanage, Dorset on 12 August 1904, aged 43, list of Grand Slam mens singles champions William Renshaw at the Association of Tennis Professionals William Renshaw at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
7.
The Championships, Wimbledon
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The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and is widely considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. Since the Australian Open shifted to hardcourt in 1988, Wimbledon is the only major still played on grass. The tournament takes place two weeks in late June and early July, culminating with the Ladies and Gentlemens Singles Final. Five major, junior, and invitational events are each year. Wimbledon traditions include a dress code for competitors and Royal patronage. The tournament is notable for the absence of sponsor advertising around the courts. In 2009, Wimbledons Centre Court was fitted with a roof to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is a club founded on 23 July 1868. Its first ground was off Worple Road, Wimbledon, in 1876, lawn tennis, a game devised by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so earlier and originally given the name Sphairistikè, was added to the activities of the club. In spring 1877, the club was renamed The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, a new code of laws, replacing the code administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club, was drawn up for the event. Todays rules are similar except for such as the height of the net and posts. The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship started on 9 July 1877 and the Gentlemens Singles was the event held. It was won by Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player, about 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final. The lawns at the ground were arranged so that the court was in the middle with the others arranged around it. The name was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, however, in 1980 four new courts were brought into commission on the north side of the ground, which meant the Centre Court was once more correctly defined. The opening of the new No.1 Court in 1997 emphasised the description, by 1882, activity at the club was almost exclusively confined to lawn tennis and that year the word croquet was dropped from the title. However, for reasons it was restored in 1899
William Renshaw