1.
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
2.
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
3.
London Underground
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The London Underground is a public rapid transit system serving London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. The network has expanded to 11 lines, and in 2015–16 carried 1.34 billion passengers, the 11 lines collectively handle approximately 4.8 million passengers a day. The system has 270 stations and 250 miles of track, despite its name, only 45% of the system is actually underground in tunnels, with much of the network in the outer environs of London being on the surface. In addition, the Underground does not cover most southern parts of Greater London, the current operator, London Underground Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London, the statutory corporation responsible for the transport network in Greater London. As of 2015, 92% of operational expenditure is covered by passenger fares, the Travelcard ticket was introduced in 1983 and Oyster, a contactless ticketing system, in 2003. Contactless card payments were introduced in 2014, the LPTB was a prominent patron of art and design, commissioning many new station buildings, posters and public artworks in a modernist style. Other famous London Underground branding includes the roundel and Johnston typeface, to prepare construction, a short test tunnel was built in 1855 in Kibblesworth, a small town with geological properties similar to London. This test tunnel was used for two years in the development of the first underground train, and was later, in 1861, the worlds first underground railway, it opened in January 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. It was hailed as a success, carrying 38,000 passengers on the opening day, the Metropolitan District Railway opened in December 1868 from South Kensington to Westminster as part of a plan for an underground inner circle connecting Londons main-line termini. The Metropolitan and District railways completed the Circle line in 1884, built using the cut and this opened in 1890 with electric locomotives that hauled carriages with small opaque windows, nicknamed padded cells. The Waterloo and City Railway opened in 1898, followed by the Central London Railway in 1900, the Metropolitan Railway protested about the change of plan, but after arbitration by the Board of Trade, the DC system was adopted. When the Bakerloo was so named in July 1906, The Railway Magazine called it an undignified gutter title, by 1907 the District and Metropolitan Railways had electrified the underground sections of their lines. In January 1913, the UERL acquired the Central London Railway, the Bakerloo line was extended north to Queens Park to join a new electric line from Euston to Watford, but World War I delayed construction and trains reached Watford Junction in 1917. During air raids in 1915 people used the stations as shelters. An extension of the Central line west to Ealing was also delayed by the war, the Metropolitan promoted housing estates near the railway with the Metro-land brand and nine housing estates were built near stations on the line. Electrification was extended north from Harrow to Rickmansworth, and branches opened from Rickmansworth to Watford in 1925, the Piccadilly line was extended north to Cockfosters and took over District line branches to Harrow and Hounslow. In 1933, most of Londons underground railways, tramway and bus services were merged to form the London Passenger Transport Board, the Waterloo & City Railway, which was by then in the ownership of the main line Southern Railway, remained with its existing owners. In the same year that the London Passenger Transport Board was formed, in the following years, the outlying lines of the former Metropolitan Railway closed, the Brill Tramway in 1935, and the line from Quainton Road to Verney Junction in 1936
4.
Southfields tube station
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Southfields is a London Underground station in Southfields in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The station is on the District line between East Putney and Wimbledon Park stations, the station is located on Wimbledon Park Road at the junction with Augustus Road and Replingham Road. It is in Travelcard Zone 3, the station was opened by the District Railway on 3 June 1889 on an extension from Putney Bridge station to Wimbledon. The section of the District line from Putney Bridge to Wimbledon was the last part of the line to be converted from steam operation to electric, electric trains began running on 27 August 1905. Until the transfer, the station was branded as a British Rail station, there are very infrequent movements of Network Rail engineering trains and light engine movements through the station as well. Overall refurbishment and extension works to the station started in March 2009, the shops formerly located on the eastern side of the street-level building were demolished and the site used for a new ticket office, relocated from the western side of the booking hall. A new standard Underground ticket gateline has been installed, the Chelsea-Hackney line route would have called here which would seen it go through Southfields Station and supplement or replace the existing District line service. Southfields Station and Wimbledon Park station are of almost identical design, although a mirror image of one another. Southfields Station has changed the most due to passenger traffic during Wimbledon Tennis. The left side of the staircase at Southfields was widened the pillar in the side of the staircase was originally an external feature. A second doorway was opened up to the west of the doorway into the ticket office area. The southern end of the room on the platform has been converted into a kiosk. There is therefore no enclosed public waiting facility on the platform, the station platform undergoes a makeover each year to coincide with the tournament, funded by a particular company for advertising purposes. For instance, in 2006, the platform was covered in red flooring, as were the benches. In 2005, Televisions were installed and played non-stop adverts, also for American Express, in 2009, the makeover was funded by HSBC. In 2010 it was funded by Asda and advertised their strawberries, London Buses routes 39,493,156 and 639 and night route N87 serve the station. During the two weeks of Wimbledon Tennis a shuttle bus runs from Southfields Station to the tennis courts, travelcards and bus passes are not accepted on this bus. London Transport Museum Photographic Archive Southfields station,1933 Southfields station,2001
5.
Seating capacity
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Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. The International Fire Code, portions of which have adopted by many jurisdictions, is directed more towards the use of a facility than the construction. It specifies, For areas having fixed seating without dividing arms and it also requires that every public venue submit a detailed site plan to the local fire code official, including details of the means of egress, seating capacity, arrangement of the seating. Once safety considerations have been satisfied, determinations of seating capacity turn on the size of the venue. For sports venues, the decision on maximum seating capacity is determined by several factors, chief among these are the primary sports program and the size of the market area. Seating capacity of venues also plays a role in what media they are able to provide, in contracting to permit performers to use a theatre or other performing space, the seating capacity of the performance facility must be disclosed. Seating capacity may influence the kind of contract to be used, the seating capacity must also be disclosed to the copyright owner in seeking a license for the copyrighted work to be performed in that venue. Venues that may be leased for private functions such as ballrooms and auditoriums generally advertise their seating capacity, seating capacity is also an important consideration in the construction and use of sports venues such as stadiums and arenas. The seating capacity for restaurants is reported as covers, a restaurant that can seat 99 is said to have 99 covers, seating capacity differs from total capacity, which describes the total number of people who can fit in a venue or in a vehicle either sitting or standing. Use of the term public capacity indicates that a venue is allowed to more people than it can actually seat. Again, the total number of people can refer to either the physical space available or limitations set by law
6.
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
7.
Pound sterling
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It is subdivided into 100 pence. A number of nations that do not use sterling also have called the pound. At various times, the sterling was commodity money or bank notes backed by silver or gold. The pound sterling is the worlds oldest currency still in use, the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey and Jersey produce their own local issues of sterling, the Guernsey pound and the Jersey pound. The pound sterling is also used in the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the Bank of England is the central bank for the pound sterling, issuing its own coins and banknotes, and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sterling is the fourth most-traded currency in the exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro. Together with those three currencies it forms the basket of currencies which calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights, Sterling is also the third most-held reserve currency in global reserves. The full, official name, pound sterling, is used mainly in formal contexts, otherwise the term pound is normally used. The abbreviations ster. or stg. are sometimes used, the term British pound is commonly used in less formal contexts, although it is not an official name of the currency. The pound sterling is also referred to as cable amongst forex traders, the origins of this term are attributed to the fact that in the 1800s, the dollar/pound sterling exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable. Forex brokers are sometimes referred to as cable dealers, as another established source notes, the compound expression was then derived, silver coins known as sterlings were issued in the Saxon kingdoms,240 of them being minted from a pound of silver. Hence, large payments came to be reckoned in pounds of sterlings, in 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. And because the Leagues money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, and land for their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, which by the 1340s was also called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle. For further discussion of the etymology of sterling, see sterling silver, the currency sign for the pound sign is £, which is usually written with a single cross-bar, though a version with a double cross-bar is also sometimes seen. The ISO4217 currency code is GBP, occasionally, the abbreviation UKP is used but this is non-standard because the ISO3166 country code for the United Kingdom is GB. The Crown dependencies use their own codes, GGP, JEP, stocks are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to pence sterling, GBX, when listing stock prices. A common slang term for the pound sterling or pound is quid, since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence. The symbol for the penny is p, hence an amount such as 50p properly pronounced fifty pence is more colloquially, quite often, pronounced fifty pee /fɪfti, pi and this also helped to distinguish between new and old pence amounts during the changeover to the decimal system
8.
Populous (company)
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Populous is a global architectural firm specializing in the design of sports facilities, arenas and convention centers, as well as the planning of major special events. Populous formerly operated as HOK Sport Venue Event, which was part of the HOK Group, in January 2009, Populous was created through a management buyout, becoming independently owned and operated. It is reported to be one of the largest architecture firms in the world, in 1983, HOK under Jerry Sincoff created a sports group. The firm initially consisted of eight architects in Kansas City, on several projects, HOK Sport had teamed with international design practice LOBB Partnership, which maintained offices in London, England, and Brisbane, Australia. On HOK Sports 15th anniversary in November 1998, the merged with LOBB. The new practice retained headquarters in all three cities, the Kansas City, Missouri, office was first based in the citys Garment District in the Lucas Place office building. It was the first major company to relocate to the neighborhood in several decades, in March 2009, HOK Sport Venue Event changed its name to Populous after a managers’ buyout by HOK Group. In October 2015, Populous relocated to its new headquarters at the newly renovated Board of Trade building at 4800 Main street near the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. Other firms with sports design presence in Kansas City that trace their roots to Kivett include Ellerbe Becket Inc. Populous is credited for spearheading a new era of baseball park design in the 1990s, beginning with Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Starting with the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati in 2003, subsequent stadium exteriors featuring this motif opened in Washington and Minnesota. And because the stadiums were designed for baseball instead of several sports, Camden Yards was not only hugely popular with baseball fans. The success of a new ballpark in downtown Baltimore convinced many cities to invest public funds in their own new ballparks to help revitalize struggling urban neighborhoods, from 1992 to 2012, HOK Sport/Populous were the lead architects on 14 Major League Baseball stadiums and helped renovate four existing stadiums. One sportswriter said the attempt to emulate the old parks in this way is contrived. S, Louis, Missouri – St. Louis Cardinals Nationals Park, Washington, D. C. Sir Bobby Robson Stand at Portman Road – Ipswich, England, UK – Ipswich Town Football Club Estádio da Luz – Lisbon, benfica Estádio Algarve – Loulé, Portugal – S. C. Monterrey Stade des Lumières – Décines, France – Olympique Lyonnais City of Manchester Stadium expansion – Manchester, UK – Manchester City F. C. C. Petersburg, Florida (joint project with Lescher & Mahoney Sports & Criswell, Blizzard & Blouin Architects Ervin J. Paul, Minnesota, USA2015 – Final Four - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA Official website
9.
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
10.
Summer Olympic Games
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The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad, first held in 1896, is an international multi-sport event that is hosted by a different city every four years. The most recent Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the International Olympic Committee organizes the games and oversees the host citys preparations. In each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, and bronze medals are awarded for third, the Winter Olympic Games were created due to the success of the Summer Olympics. The Olympics have increased in scope from a 42-event competition with fewer than 250 male competitors from 14 nations in 1896 to 302 events with 10,768 competitors from 204 nations in 2012, eighteen countries have hosted the Summer Olympics. The United States has hosted four Summer Olympics, more than any other nation, four cities have hosted two Summer Olympics, Athens, Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Tokyo is the first city outside of the Western world to host the Summer Olympics multiple times, asia has hosted the Summer Olympics four times in Japan, South Korea, and China. The only Summer Olympics held in the Southern Hemisphere have been in Australia, the 2016 Games are the first Summer Olympics to be held in South America and the first to be held during the local winter season. Africa has yet to host a Summer Olympics, only five countries—Greece, Australia, France, Great Britain, and Switzerland—have been represented at every Summer Olympic Games. The only country to have won at least one medal at every Summer Olympic Games is Great Britain. The United States leads the medal table. Qualification rules for each of the Olympic sports are set by the International Sports Federations that governs that sports international competition, for individual sports, competitors typically qualify through attaining a certain place in a major international event or on the IFs ranking list. There is a rule that maximum three individual athletes may represent each nation per competition. Nations most often qualify teams for team sports through continental qualifying tournaments, each nation may be represented by no more than one team per competition a team is two people in some sports. The United States has hosted four Summer Olympic Games, more than any other nation, the United Kingdom hosted the 2012 Olympic Games, its third Summer Olympic Games, in its capital London, making London the first city to host the Summer Olympic Games three times. Australia, France, Germany, Greece, and Japan have all hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice. Other countries that have hosted the Summer Olympics are Belgium, Brazil, China, Canada, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, the Soviet Union, asia has hosted the Summer Olympics three times and will host again in 2020. In 2016, Rio de Janeiro hosted the first Summer Olympics in South America, three cities have hosted two Summer Olympic Games, Los Angeles, Paris, and Athens. Stockholm has hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having hosted the games in 1912 and the events at the 1956 Summer Olympics—which they are usually listed as jointly hosting
11.
2012 Summer Olympics
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It took place in London and to a lesser extent across the United Kingdom from 25 July to 12 August 2012. The first event, the stage in womens football began on 25 July at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. 10,768 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees participated, London is the first and only city thus far to host the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948. Construction for the Games involved considerable redevelopment, with an emphasis on sustainability, the main focus was a new 200-hectare Olympic Park, constructed on a former industrial site at Stratford, East London. The Games also made use of venues that already existed before the bid, the Games received widespread acclaim for their organisation, with the volunteers, the British military and public enthusiasm praised particularly highly. During the Games, Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Brunei entered female athletes for the first time, so that every currently eligible country has sent a female competitor to at least one Olympic Games. Womens boxing was included for the first time, thus the Games became the first at which every sport had female competitors and these were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Jacques Rogge. The final medal tally was led by the United States, followed by China, several world and Olympic records were set at the games. Furthermore, the focus on sporting legacy and post-games venue sustainability was seen as a blueprint for future Olympics. On 18 May 2004, as a result of a technical evaluation. All five submitted their candidate files by 19 November 2004 and were visited by the IOC inspection team during February, throughout the process, Paris was widely seen as the favourite, particularly as this was its third bid in recent years. London was initially seen as lagging behind Paris by a considerable margin and its position began to improve after the appointment of Lord Coe as the new head of London 2012 on 19 May 2004. In late August 2004, reports predicted a tie between London and Paris, on 6 June 2005, the IOC released its evaluation reports for the five candidate cities. They did not contain any scores or rankings, but the report for Paris was considered the most positive, London was close behind, having closed most of the gap observed by the initial evaluation in 2004. New York and Madrid also received positive evaluations. On 1 July 2005, when asked who would win, Jacques Rogge said, but my gut feeling tells me that it will be very close. Perhaps it will come down to a difference of say ten votes, on 6 July 2005, the final selection was announced at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. Moscow was the first city to be eliminated, followed by New York, the final two contenders were London and Paris
12.
Tennis court
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A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be used to create a tennis court, Tennis is played on a rectangular flat surface, usually of grass, clay or hard material. The dimensions of a court are defined and regulated by the International Tennis Federation governing body and are written down in the annual Rules of Tennis document. The court is 78 feet long and its width is 27 feet for singles matches and 36 feet for doubles matches. The service line is 21 feet from the net, additional clear space around the court is needed in order for players to reach overrun balls for a total of 60 feet wide and 120 feet long. A net is stretched across the width of the court, parallel with the baselines. The net is 3 feet 6 inches high at the posts, the net posts are 3 feet outside the doubles court on each side or, for a singles net,3 feet outside the singles court on each side. Tennis is played on a variety of surfaces and each surface has its own characteristics which affect the style of the game. There are four types of courts depending on the materials used for the court surface, clay courts, hard courts, grass courts. The Australian Open switched to hard courts in 1988 and in its years the French championship alternated between clay and sand/rubble courts. ITF uses the classification for tennis court surface types, Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone. The French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament to use clay courts, Clay courts slow down the ball and produce a high bounce in comparison to grass courts or hard courts. For this reason, the court takes away many of the advantages of big serves. Clay courts are cheaper to construct than other types of tennis courts, Clay courts need to be rolled to preserve flatness. The clays water content must be balanced, green courts generally require the courts to be sloped to allow water run-off, Clay courts are more common in Europe and Latin America than in North America and tend to heavily favour baseline players. Grass courts are the fastest type of courts in common use and they consist of grass grown on very hard-packed soil, which adds additional variables, bounces depend on how healthy the grass is, how recently it has been mown, and the wear and tear of recent play
13.
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
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British royal family
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The British royal family comprises the monarch of the United Kingdom and her close relations. There is no legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member of the British royal family. Different terms may be applied to the same or similar group of relatives of the monarch in his or her role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, for example, in Canada, the family is known as the Canadian royal family. Some members of the family have official residences named as the places from which announcements are made in the Court Circular about official engagements they have carried out. The state duties and staff of some members of the family are funded from a parliamentary annuity. Since 1917, when King George V changed the name of the house from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, members of the royal family belong, either by birth or by marriage. In 2014, the family were regarded as British cultural icons. Today, they often perform ceremonial and social duties throughout the United Kingdom, in the other countries of the Commonwealth royalty do not serve as Counsellors of State, although they may perform ceremonial and social duties on behalf of individual states or the organisation. Wives of the said enjoy their husbands precedence, and husbands of princesses are unofficially but habitually placed with their wives as well and she did not alter the relative precedence of other born-princesses, such as the daughters of her younger sons. The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy and they Serve the Queen, A New and Authoritative Account of the Royal Household. The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England, symbol and Privilege, The Ritual Context of British Royalty. Britains Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy, Royal Family is a celebrated and reverential BBC documentary made by Richard Cawston to accompany the investiture of the current Prince of Wales. The documentary is frequently responsible for the greater press intrusion into the royal familys private life since its first broadcast. Official website of the royal family Official YouTube Channel House of Windsor Family Tree, archived from the original on 2010-12-02
15.
No. 1 Court (Wimbledon)
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The No.1 Court is a tennis court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London. With a spectator capacity of 11,360 it replaced the now-demolished former No.1 Court which had stood at the west side of Centre Court since 1924 with a capacity of 7,328. The old court was replaced by the Millennium Building, the centre and facilities for players, members. The original No.1 Court was built in 1924 and was attached to the west side of Centre Court. The Wightman Cup, a team tennis competition for women contested between teams from the United States and Great Britain was held on Court No 1 from 1946 to 1972. The old court was replaced in 1997 by the current No.1 Court situated to the north of Centre Court in Aorangi Park, the old No.1 Court was demolished because its capacity for spectators was too low. The site of the old court is now occupied by the Millennium Building, the centre, and facilities for players, members. The current No.1 Court in Aorangi Park was built in 1997, in April 2013, the All England Club confirmed its intention to build a retractable roof over No.1 Court. The roof is expected to be in place for the 2019 Championships, list of tennis stadiums by capacity Sources Little, Alan. London, The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, No.1 Court tour and information Photo of the pre-1997 No.1 Court
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No. 2 Court (Wimbledon)
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No.2 Court is a tennis court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London. Unlike the other three Grand Slam events, Wimbledon does not name its main courts after famous players, choosing instead to use numbers, with the exception of Centre Court. The original number 2 Court had a capacity of 2,192 +770 standing and was referred to as the Graveyard of Champions until it was renumbered as the No.3 Court from the 2009 Championships. The Court itself was demolished to make way for a new No.3 court. The Graveyard of Champions tag was coined as many former champions fell to ignominious defeats on the No.13 court and this new court was renamed as No.2 court and the capacity is 4,000. This meant that the Graveyard of Champions court became No.3 Court, list of tennis stadiums by capacity Wimbledon No.2 Court virtual tour
17.
Tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics
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The tennis tournaments at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London were staged at the All England Club in Wimbledon, from 28 July to 5 August. This was the first Olympic grass court tournament since tennis was reintroduced as an Olympic sport, a total of 190 players competed in five events, singles and doubles for both men and women and, for the first time since 1924, mixed doubles were officially included. Elena Dementieva and Rafael Nadal were the champions, neither of whom defended their titles. Dementieva had retired from tennis in 2010, while Nadal withdrew due to tendinitis. She also defended her womens doubles alongside her sister Venus Williams. In doing so, he denied Federer the chance to become the man to win a career singles Golden Grand Slam after Nadal at the 2010 US Open. He also became the first British man to win singles tennis gold since Josiah Ritchie in 1908, also, the Belorussian top seeds of Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi took the mixed doubles gold after overcoming Murray and Laura Robson mere hours after Murray had defeated Federer. The 2012 Olympic tournament was the edition of tennis at the Olympics, and the seventh since 1988. The 2012 tournaments were played on grass courts at the All England Club, sessions ran from 11 a. m. until 10 p. m. as established by the All England Club policy. Twelve courts were used for the matches including Centre Court, No.1, No.3 Court was used for warm ups. The Olympic tennis events were organised jointly by the ITF, the IOC, both the mens and womens singles and doubles events counted as a part of the 2012 ATP World Tour and the 2012 WTA Tour. The points distribution for the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Womens Tennis Association tours and these points can be added to a players world ranking for the 2012 season. For the singles competitions, the top 56 players in the rankings on 11 June 2012 of the WTA. However, entry was limited to four players from a country, in the doubles competitions, twenty four teams automatically qualified as per the rankings on 11 June 2012, subject to a maximum of two teams per nation. Players in the top ten of the rankings could reserve a place. The remaining eight teams were decided by the ITFs Olympic Committee, entries for the mixed doubles were confirmed at the Games. The Tripartite Commission later decided only to places in the womens singles leaving eight wildcards to be chosen by the ITF Olympic Committee for the mens singles competition. The tennis competition at the Olympic Games consists of an elimination tournament
18.
1877 Wimbledon Championship
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The 1877 Wimbledon Championship was a mens tennis tournament held at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London. It was the worlds first official lawn tennis tournament, and was recognised as the first Grand Slam tournament or Major. The AEC & LTC had been founded in July 1868, as the All England Croquet Club, in June 1877 the club decided to organise a tennis tournament to pay for the repair of its pony roller, needed to maintain the lawns. A set of rules was drawn up for the tournament, derived from the first standardised rules of tennis issued by the Marylebone Cricket Club in May 1875. The Gentlemens Singles competition, the event of the championship, was contested on grass courts by 22 players who each paid one guinea to participate. The tournament started on 9 July 1877, and the final – delayed for three days by rain – was played on 19 July in front of a crowd of about 200 people who paid an entry fee of one shilling. The winner received 12 guineas in prize money and a challenge cup, valued at 25 guineas. The tournament made a profit of £10 and the pony roller remained in use, an analysis made after the tournament led to some modifications of the rules regarding the court dimensions. The origin of tennis lies in the cloisters in 12th-century France. Rackets were introduced to the game in the early 16th century, the prominence of the game declined in the 17th and 18th centuries, although there are sporadic mentions of a long tennis or field tennis version in the second half of the 18th century. Between 1858 and 1873 several people in Victorian England experimented with a version of tennis. Major Harry Gem and Augurio Perera demonstrated their game of Pelota, Wingfield is widely credited with popularising the new game through his energetic promotional efforts. The Sphairistikè court was hourglass-shaped, wider at the baseline than at the net, the service was made from a single side in a lozenge shaped box situated in the middle of the court and it had to bounce beyond the service line. In November 1874 Wingfield published a second, expanded edition of The Book of the Game, which had 12 rules and featured a larger court and a slightly lower net. The All England Croquet Club was founded on 23 July 1868 by six gentlemen at the offices of The Field, a weekly country and sports magazine. After a yearlong search a suitable ground of four acres of meadowland was located between the London and South Western Railway and Worple Road in Wimbledon, then a suburb of London. The clubs committee decided on 24 September 1869 to lease the ground and paid £50 rental for the first year, the increasing rent, coupled with a waning interest in the sedate sport of croquet, was causing the club financial difficulties. In February 1875 it decided to introduce lawn tennis at its grounds to capitalise on the growing interest in this new sport and generate additional revenue
19.
2007 Wimbledon Championships
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The 2007 Wimbledon Championships were held between 25 June and 8 July 2007. For the first time there was prize money for the mens and womens singles champions. Reconstruction work on Centre Court was in progress and thus it had no roof and it was also the first year that Hawk-eye was used at Wimbledon. The Gentlemens final was won by Roger Federer for the consecutive time. It was the third longest mens final of all time at 3 hours and 45 minutes. Venus Williams claimed the Ladies Title by defeating Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, for the first time in twenty years, the Championships saw a home player win a senior title as Jamie Murray won the mixed doubles with Serbian partner Jelena Janković. Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 2–6, 6–2Federer won his fifth consecutive title and it was also the first time that Federer had played five sets in the final of a Grand Slam. Arnaud Clément / Michaël Llodra defeated Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 • It was Cléments 1st, • It was Llodras 3rd career Grand Slam doubles title and his 1st at Wimbledon. Cara Black / Liezel Huber defeated Katarina Srebotnik / Ai Sugiyama 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 It was Blacks 4th career Grand Slam doubles title and it was Hubers 3rd career Grand Slam doubles title and her 2nd at Wimbledon. Jelena Janković / Jamie Murray defeated Alicia Molik / Jonas Björkman 6–4, 3–6, vladimir Ignatic 7-5, 6-1 Urszula Radwańska def. Madison Brengle 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 Daniel Lopez / Matteo Trevisan def. Roman Jebavý / Martin Kližan 7-6, 4-6, misaki Doi / Kurumi Nara 6-4, 2-6, - Jacco Eltingh / Paul Haarhuis def. Mark Petchey / Chris Wilkinson 6-2, 6-2 Jeremy Bates / Anders Järryd def, kevin Curren / Johan Kriek 6-3, 6-3 Jana Novotná / Helena Suková def. Ilana Kloss / Rosalyn Nideffer 6-3, 6-3 Robin Ammerlaan / Ronald Vink def, shingo Kunieda / Satoshi Saida 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 1Daily previews and reviews films will be added as soon as possible. Note that only certain Windows computers can accommodate the requirement to watch highlights films, Martina Hingis had to save two match points against British wildcard Naomi Cavaday on Day 1, almost repeating her first-round exit from the 2001 championships. Hingis eventually went on to win the match 6-7, 7-5, janko Tipsarević beat Fernando González 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 8-6 to advance to the fourth round. Tipsarević was ranked 64 and González was seeded 5 but ranked 6, tim Henman defeated Carlos Moyà in round 1 after going down two sets to one in a match that lasted two days with a 5th set scoreline of 13-11. Henman failed to convert 6 match points before capitalizing from a fault by Moya on the 7th match point. Juan Carlos Ferrero also came back, this time from two sets to none down in a match suspended for 2 days, 7-5 in the 5th set against Jan Hájek
20.
Retractable roof
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A retractable roof is a roof system designed to roll back the roof on tracks so that the interior of the facility is open to the outdoors. Retractable roofs are sometimes referred to as operable roofs or retractable skylights, the term operable skylight, while quite similar, refers to a skylight that opens on a hinge, rather than on a track. Retractable roofs are used in residences, restaurants and bars, swim centres, as Rollamatic was founded five years earlier, the first installation of a motorized retractable roof must be between 1958 and 1963. While any shape is possible, common shapes are flat, ridge, hip-ridge, barrel, a residence might incorporate one or more 3 by 5 retractables, a bar or restaurant a retractable roof measuring 20 by 30, and a meeting hall a 50 by 100 bi-parting-over-stationary. Installations throughout the world employ a variety of different configurations and styles, the first retractable roof sports venue was the now-demolished Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec was slated to be the first outdoor retractable roof stadium at its debut for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games, however, plagued by construction problems, the roof was not installed until 1987, and was not retractable until 1988. Even then, movement of the roof was impossible in high wind conditions, a permanent, fixed roof was installed in 1998. By contrast, the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario had a functional retractable roof at its debut in 1989. Architecturally speaking, retractable roofs vary greatly from stadium to stadium in shape, material, for example, Miller Park has a fan style roof, while Toyota Stadium in Japan has an accordion-like roof. Most retractable roofs are made of metal, while some, such as the roof of University of Phoenix Stadium, are made of water-resistant fabric, in North American major sports leagues, specific rules exist governing the movement of retractable roofs before and during gameplay. These rules vary between the NFL and MLB, as well as from stadium to stadium, depending on the stadium, weather or gameplay conditions, and the judgment of the officials, play may or may not continue until the roof is fully closed. If the game begins with the closed, it may be opened under some circumstances depending on the venue. If it is closed after the game begins, typically it must remain closed for the duration of the game, some modern athletic facilities are using affordable, less complex roof systems that resemble retractable roofs in appearance and effect. These roof systems, commonly referred to as open roofs, are constructed with similar materials as retractable roofs, most open roof companies offer polycarbonate or tempered glass roofs for safer sports play and durability. Hinged at the structures gutters, open roofs fully close and open by the mechanics of a rack, comparable to the benefits of retractable roofs, open roof systems offer players year-long usage, protection from inclement weather when needed, and the feeling of an outdoor environment. Open roofs are seen at smaller athletic venues such as country clubs. Both retractable roof and open roof systems are used in the construction of commercial greenhouses. CBC archives The architect explains the system for the Rogers Centre in Toronto
21.
2009 Wimbledon Championships
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The 2009 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, from Monday 22 June through to Sunday 5 July 2009. It was the 123rd staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam tennis event of the year, rafael Nadal did not defend his title after withdrawing from the tournament due to knee tendinitis. Roger Federer won his 6th Wimbledon title defeating rival Andy Roddick in the final in five sets, Federers victory marked his fifteenth Grand Slam title which broke the mens all-time record. Venus Williams was unsuccessful in her defence, being defeated in the final by her sister Serena. Andy Roddick, 5–7, 7–6, 7–6, 3–6, 16–14 It was Federers 3rd title of the year, Federers victory gave him his 15th career Grand Slam title, to make him the most successful male player in Grand Slam history. The match set a record for most games in a final, the most games won by the losing player. Venus Williams, 7–6, 6–2 It was Serenas 2nd title of the year and it was her 11th career Grand Slam title, and her 3rd Wimbledon title. Daniel Nestor / Nenad Zimonjić def, bob Bryan / Mike Bryan, 7–6, 6–7, 7–6, 6–3 Serena Williams / Venus Williams def. Samantha Stosur / Rennae Stubbs, 7–6, 6–4 Mark Knowles / Anna-Lena Grönefeld def, leander Paes / Cara Black, 7–5, 6–3 Andrey Kuznetsov def. Jordan Cox, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2 Noppawan Lertcheewakarn def. Kristina Mladenovic, 3–6, 6–3, 6–1 Pierre-Hugues Herbert / Kevin Krawietz def, julien Obry / Adrien Puget, 6–7, 6–2, 12–10 Noppawan Lertcheewakarn / Sally Peers def. Kristina Mladenovic / Silvia Njirić, 6–1, 6–1 Jacco Eltingh / Paul Haarhuis def, donald Johnson / Jared Palmer, 7–6, 6–4 Jeremy Bates / Anders Järryd def. Mansour Bahrami / Henri Leconte, 6–4, 7–6 Martina Navratilova / Helena Suková def, ilana Kloss / Rosalyn Nideffer, 6–3, 6–2 Stéphane Houdet / Michaël Jeremiasz def. Robin Ammerlaan / Shingo Kunieda, 1–6, 6–4, 7–6 Korie Homan / Esther Vergeer def, Daniela Di Toro / Lucy Shuker, 6–1, 6–3 Swiss Roger Federer established a number of records at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. By defeating Ivo Karlović in the quarterfinals, Federer reached his 21st consecutive Grand Slam semi-final and he then defeated Tommy Haas in the semi-final to reach his 7th consecutive Wimbledon final and his 20th Grand Slam final, both all-time records. Finally, by defeating Andy Roddick in the final, Federer won his 15th Grand Slam title, the 2009 Championships coincided with an extended period of hot, dry weather in south-east England. Murray won the match 6–3 in the fifth set and these were the only two matches in which the roof was used. The record for latest finish has since surpassed by Andy Murray in his 4 set match against Baghdatis in 2012 which ended at 23,02. The Tennis Integrity Unit planned to observe matches played by up to 12 players throughout the tournament, the TIU has existed since January 2008
22.
Andre Agassi
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Andre Kirk Agassi is an American retired professional tennis player and former World No.1 who was one of the sports most dominant players from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, as a result, he is credited for helping to revive the popularity of tennis during the 1990s. In singles tennis, Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam champion, Agassi was the first male player to win all four Grand Slam tournaments on three different surfaces, and the last American male to win both the French Open and the Australian Open. He also won 17 ATP Masters Series titles and was part of the winning Davis Cup teams in 1990,1992 and 1995, Agassi returned to World No.1 in 1999 and enjoyed the most successful run of his career over the next four years. During his 20-plus year tour career, Agassi was known by the nickname The Punisher and he is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada. In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas and he has been married to fellow tennis player Steffi Graf since 2001. Andre Agassi was born in Las Vegas, Nevada to Emmanuel Mike Agassi and his father stated he is from a mixed, mostly Armenian, heritage. He later elaborated that his grandfather was Assyrian who married an Armenian woman, Andre Agassis mother, Betty, is a breast cancer survivor. He has three older siblings – Rita, Philip and Tami, one of his ancestors changed his surname from Agassian to Agassi to avoid persecution. In a passage from the book Open, Agassi details how his father made him play a match for money with football legend Jim Brown, in 1979, Brown was at a Vegas tennis club complaining to the owner about a money match that was canceled. Agassis father stepped in and told Brown that he could play his son, Brown lost those sets, 3–6, 3–6, declined the 10K wager, and offered to play the third set for $500. At age 13, Andre was sent to Nick Bollettieris Tennis Academy in Florida and he was meant to stay for only 3 months because that was all his father could afford. After thirty minutes of watching Agassi play, Bollettieri called Mike and said, hes here for free, claiming that Agassi had more natural talent than anyone else he had seen. Agassi dropped out of school in the ninth grade, Agassi turned professional at the age of 16 and competed in his first tournament at La Quinta, California. He won his first match against John Austin, but then lost his match to Mats Wilander. By the end of the year, Agassi was ranked world no.91 and he won his first top-level singles title in 1987 at the Sul American Open in Itaparica and ended the year ranked world no.25. During the year, he set the record for most consecutive victories by a male teenager. His year-end ranking was world no,3, behind second-ranked Ivan Lendl and top-ranked Mats Wilander
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Steffi Graf
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Stefanie Maria Steffi Graf is a German former tennis player, who was ranked world No.1 during her career. Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and her 22 singles titles puts her second on the list of Major wins by a tennis player since the introduction of the Open Era in 1968 and is third all-time behind Margaret Court and Serena Williams. In 1988, she became the first and only player to achieve the Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles. Furthermore, she is the tennis player to have won each Grand Slam event at least four times. She won 107 singles titles, which ranks her third on the WTAs all-time list after Martina Navratilova and she and Margaret Court are the only players, male or female, to win three grand slams in a calendar year five times. Notable features of Grafs game were her versatility across all playing surfaces, footwork, Graf won six French Open singles titles, seven Wimbledon singles titles, four Australian Open titles, and five U. S. Open singles titles. She is the singles player to have achieved a Grand Slam since hard court was introduced as a surface at the US Open in 1978. Consequently, Grafs Grand Slam was achieved on grass, clay, Graf reached thirteen consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, from the 1987 French Open through to the 1990 French Open, winning nine of them. She won 5 consecutive Majors, and seven Majors out of eight and she reached a total of 31 Grand Slam singles finals. Graf is regarded by some to be the greatest female player of all time. Navratilova included Graf on her list of great players, in 1999 Billie Jean King said Steffi is definitely the greatest womens tennis player of all time. In December 1999, Graf was named the greatest female player of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by the Associated Press. Tennis writer Steve Flink, in his book The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, in March 2012, Tennis Channel picked Graf as the greatest female tennis player ever in their list of 100 greatest tennis players of all time. Graf retired in 1999 while she was ranked World No.3 and she married former World No.1 mens tennis player Andre Agassi in October 2001. The couple have two children – Jaden Gil and Jaz Elle, Graf was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004. Stefanie Graf was born on 14 June 1969, in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany, to Heidi Schalk and Peter Graf, when she was nine years old her family moved to the neighbouring town of Bruhl. She has a younger brother Michael, Graf was introduced to tennis by her father, an aspiring tennis coach, who taught his three-year-old daughter how to swing a wooden racket in the familys living room. She began practicing on a court at the age of four and she soon began winning junior tournaments with regularity, and in 1982 she won the European Championships 12s and 18s
24.
Tim Henman
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Timothy Henry Tim Henman OBE is a retired English professional tennis player. Henman played a style of tennis. He was the first male player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Mens Singles Championship. Henman never reached the finals of any Grand Slam but reached six Grand Slam semifinals and won 15 career ATP titles, also, he scored 40 wins and 14 losses with the Great Britain Davis Cup team. Henman was ranked British number 1 in 1996 and again from 1999 to 2005 and he reached a career high ranking of World No.4 during three different periods between July 2002 and October 2004. He is one of Britains most successful open era male tennis players, in the 2004 New Year Honours, he was appointed an OBE. Henman started playing tennis before the age of three, and began training in the Slater Squad at eleven. After suffering a injury which affected him for the better part of two years, he began touring internationally as a junior and achieved some successes. He rose quickly up the ATP rankings, and by 1996 had reached the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Championships, the year 2005 began a decline for Henman, and from that year onwards he never managed to pass through the third round in a Grand Slam tournament. Henman retired from tennis in late 2007, but he remains active in the ATP Champions Tour. Henman was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, as the youngest of a family of three boys, Henmans father Tony, a solicitor, was accomplished at various sports, including tennis, hockey and squash. His mother Jane, a designer, played Junior Wimbledon and introduced Tim and his elder brothers Michael. His great grandfather played at Wimbledon and his maternal grandfather, Henry Billington, played at Wimbledon between 1948 and 1951, and he represented Britain in the Davis Cup in 1948,1950 and 1951. In 1901 his maternal great-grandmother, Ellen Stanwell-Brown, was reputedly the first woman to serve overarm at Wimbledon, Henman grew up in Weston-on-the-Green, Oxfordshire, a village between Oxford and Bicester with a population of around 500. At home, the owned a grass tennis court in their back garden. Henman began playing tennis before the age of three with a shortened squash racket, at this stage, he was already teaching himself how to serve and volley. At an early stage in his life, Henman decided if he did not succeed in tennis, Henman attended the Longbridge School for boys between the ages of five and seven, and was enrolled in the private Dragon School in Oxford from seven to 11. He excelled in all sports but was always best at tennis, but Henman was small for his age, a factor which would bode against him in the future
Southfields
