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.
Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers
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Dorothea Lambert Chambers was a British tennis player. She won seven Wimbledon Womens Singles titles and a medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1900 Douglass made her singles debut at Wimbledon and, after a bye in the first round, three years later, she won her first of seven ladies singles titles. On 6 April 1907 she married Robert Lambert Chambers and was known by her married surname Lambert Chambers. In 1908 she won the medal in the womens singles event at the 1908 Summer Olympics after a straight-sets victory in the final against compatriot Dora Boothby. She wrote Tennis for Ladies, which was published in 1910, the book contained photographs of tennis techniques and contained advice on attire and equipment. In 1911 Lambert Chambers won the final at Wimbledon against Dora Boothby 6–0, 6–0. The only other player who won a Grand Slam singles final without losing a game was Steffi Graf when she defeated Natalia Zvereva in the 1988 French Open final. In 1919 Lambert Chambers played the longest Wimbledon final up to time,44 games against Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen. Lambert Chambers held two match points at 6–5 in the set but eventually lost to Lenglen 8–10, 6–4. Lambert Chambers only played sporadic singles after 1921 but continued to compete in doubles until 1927 and she made the singles quarter-finals of the US Open in 1925 and, from 1924 to 1926, she captained Britains Wightman Cup team. In the 1925 Wightman Cup edition she played, at the age of 46, in 1928 she turned to professional coaching. Lambert Chambers was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981, in addition to playing tennis Lambert Chambers was one of the leading badminton players at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1903,1904 and 1907 she was the runner-up at the event of the All England Badminton Championships. Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers at the International Tennis Hall of Fame Works by Lambert Chambers at Project Gutenberg Book Lawn Tennis for Ladies at Archive. org
3.
Great Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics
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The United Kingdom was the host nation of the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. The British Olympic Association was the National Olympic Committee responsible for organizing the United Kingdoms representation, at the time British athletes competed under the team name United Kingdom. The British team comprised 676 competitors, a number of Irish athletes boycotted the games in protest at British refusals to grant Irish Home Rule. During the opening ceremony, American athletes did not dip their flag to the British royalty in support of the Irish boycott and it was the fourth appearance of the country, which has not missed any of the Summer Olympic Games. The country finished in the Olympic table in first place for the first, British women were the only ones to compete in the womens event. Great Britain had 41 archers present,25 women and 16 men, the British did not do as well in the Continental style, dominated by the French team, with the only Briton taking 12th place. Robert Backhouse, however, shot a score in a demonstration that would have placed him second had he been in actual competition. The British team was the second most successful team in athletics, with 7 first-place finishes, they gathered less than half the championships that the American team did at 16, but still nearly doubled all other teams combined. Great Britain dominated the competitions, taking 14 of the 15 medals including all 5 gold medals. Great Britain won 5 of a possible 7 gold medals in the competitions, losing only the mens tandem to France. His bottom placing in that playoff gave France a sweep of the medals, the British were less successful in sabre, with no fencers making it to the final in the individual competition and the team being eliminated in the first round. England national amateur football team represented Great Britain in the football competition, Great Britain sent four teams, one from each of the Home Nations. Scotland and England defeated Germany and France, respectively, in the first round before facing each other in the semifinals and their victories assured them medals, while Ireland and Wales had been guaranteed medals by receiving byes in the first round. England won in the semifinal against Scotland, while Ireland defeated Wales in the other semifinal, the two losing teams received bronze medals, while England took the gold by winning the final against Ireland, who received silver. In the jeu de paume competition, British players took the silver, Great Britain lost the only lacrosse match played in 1908 to Canada, earning the silver medal. Great Britain was the nation to compete in polo in 1908. The host nation was the one to compete in rackets in 1908. Great Britain lost the only rugby union played in 1908 to Australasia
4.
Dora Boothby
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Penelope Dora Harvey Boothby was an English female tennis player. She was born in Finchley, Middlesex and she is best remembered for her ladies singles title at the 1909 Wimbledon Championships. Boothby was born in Finchley and, together with her older sister Gertrude, lived there with her step-parents, Harry and Gertrude Penn. Harry was a engineer, and by 1901, they had moved to South Norwood, where she played at Beulah Hill Club. In 1908 she won a medal in the womens singles event at the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1909 when she won the Ladies Singles at Wimbledon, the runner-up of the Mens Singles, in 1911 she became the first female player to lose a Wimbledon final without winning a game, losing to Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers 6–0, 6–0. In 1914 she married Arthur C. Geen and she died in Hammersmith or Hampstead, London in 1970. John Arlott, The Oxford companion to sports & games, Oxford University Press, London 1975 Dora Boothby at the International Tennis Federation All England champions 1899–2007
5.
Tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics
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Six tennis events were contested at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. Indoor tennis events, on what were officially called covered courts, were held for the first time, womens tennis returned, with womens singles and indoor womens singles. In total 50 players,40 men and 10 women, competed, five nations made their tennis debuts, while five more returned to competition for a total of ten nations. Two players, Les Poidevin and Wimbledon champion Anthony Wilding were nominated for Australasia, indoor Outdoor 50 players from 10 nations competed. The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report
6.
1908 Summer Olympics
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The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England from 27 April to 31 October 1908. These games were scheduled to be held in Rome, but were re-located on financial grounds following a disastrous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906. They were the fourth chronological modern Olympic Games in keeping with the now-accepted four-year cycle as opposed to the proposed Intercalated Games alternate four-year cycle, the IOC president for these Games was Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Lasting a total of 187 days, or 6 months and 4 days, the selection process for the 1908 Summer Olympics consisted of four bids, and saw Rome selected ahead of London, Berlin and Milan. The selection was made at the 6th IOC Session in London in 1904, italian authorities were preparing to hold the games when Mount Vesuvius erupted on 7 April 1906, devastating the city of Naples. Funds were diverted to the reconstruction of Naples, so a new venue was required, London was selected for the first time to hold the Games which were held at White City alongside the Franco-British Exhibition, at the time the more noteworthy event. The White City Stadium, built in time for the games. The stadium track was three laps to the mile, not the current standard of 400 metres, with a pool for swimming and diving and platforms for wrestling and gymnastics in the middle. The distance from the start of the Marathon to the finish at the stadium was established at these games. ”As a result of changes, the marathon covered a distance of 26 miles 385 yards. The games were surrounded by controversy, on the opening day, following the practice introduced at the Intercalated Games of 1906, teams paraded behind national flags. The Swedish flag had not been displayed above the stadium, so the members of the Swedish team decided not to part in the ceremony. The flag of the United States had also not been displayed above the stadium before the opening, the United States flag bearer, Ralph Rose, refused to dip the flag to King-Emperor Edward VII in the royal box. However, the flag was dipped in the collective greeting of the royal family. Martin Sheridan, Irish American Athletic Club member and American team captain, is believed to have supported Rose by explaining This flag dips to no earthly king. It is claimed that his statement exemplified both American and Irish defiance of the British monarchy, however, research has shown that this quotation by Sheridan was first reported in 1952, some 24 years after his death. The 1908 Olympics also prompted establishment of rules for sports. One reason was the 400 meter race, in which a US runner was accused of interfering with a British runner, part of the problem was the different definition of interference under British and US rules. The race was re-run, but the Americans refused to participate, the British runner, Wyndham Halswelle, won by running around the track on his own, because three of the four original runners had been American, the only walkover in Olympic history
7.
Tennis
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Tennis is a racket sport that can be played individually against a single opponent or between two teams of two players each. Each player uses a racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net. The object of the game is to play the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return, the player who is unable to return the ball will not gain a point, while the opposite player will. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society, the sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis and it had close connections both to various field games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport of real tennis. The rules of tennis have changed little since the 1890s, two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. Tennis is played by millions of players and is also a popular worldwide spectator sport. Historians believe that the ancient origin lay in 12th century northern France. Louis X of France was a player of jeu de paume, which evolved into real tennis. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, in due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe. Because of the accounts of his death, Louis X is historys first tennis player known by name. Another of the enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France. It wasnt until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began to be called tennis, from the French term tenez, an interjection used as a call from the server to his opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was played indoors where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, during the 18th century and early 19th century, as real tennis declined, new racket sports emerged in England. This in turn led to the codification of rules for many sports, including lawn tennis, most football codes, lawn bowls. In 1872, along with two doctors, they founded the worlds first tennis club in Leamington Spa. Evans, turfgrass agronomist, Sports historians all agree that deserves much of the credit for the development of modern tennis, according to Honor Godfrey, museum curator at Wimbledon, Wingfield popularized this game enormously
8.
Glossary of tennis terms
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This page is a glossary of tennis terminology. Ace, Serve where the ball lands inside the service box and is not touched by the receiver, thus. Aces are usually powerful and generally land on or near one of the corners at the back of the service box, initially the term was used to indicate the scoring of a point. Action, Synonym of spin ad, Used by the umpire to announce the score when a player has the advantage. See scoring in tennis ad court, Left side of the court of each player, advantage, When one player wins the first point from a deuce and needs one more point to win the game, not applicable when using deciding points. Advantage set, Set won by a player or team having won at least six games with an advantage over the opponent. Final sets in the draws of the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the tennis Olympic event. The Davis Cup was until 2015, when it switched to tie breaks, All, Used by the chair umpire to announce scores when both players have the same number of points or the same number of games. When both players are at 40, the term is deuce. All-Comers, Tournament in which all took part except the reigning champion. The winner of the All-Comers event would play the title holder in the Challenge Round, all-court, Style of play that is a composite of all the different playing styles, which includes baseline, transition, and serve and volley styles. Alley, Area of the court between the singles and the sidelines, which together are known as tramlines. Approach shot, A groundstroke shot used as a setup as the approaches the net. ATP, Acronym for Association of Tennis Professionals, the organizing body of mens professional tennis. ATP Champions Race, ATP point ranking system starts at the beginning of the year. The top eight players at the end of the qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals. ATP World Tour Finals, Formerly known as the Tennis Masters Cup, Australian formation, In doubles, a formation where the server and partner stand on the same side of the court before starting the point. Backhand, Stroke in which the ball is hit with the back of the hand facing the ball at the moment of contact
9.
Agnes Morton
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Agnes Morton was a British female tennis player. She twice reached the Ladies Singles finals at the 1908 and 1909 Wimbledon Championships and she placed fourth at the 1908 Summer Olympics in Ladies Lawn Tennis. In 1903 she was described by A. Wallis Myers as a careful, steady and improving player
10.
Alice Greene
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Alice Norah Gertrude Greene was a female English tennis player from the United Kingdom. She won a silver medal playing tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, sometimes referred to as Angela Greene in some references. Greene was born at Upton, Northamptonshire on 15 October 1879 and her father Richard was a medical doctor and superintendent of the Northampton County Lunatic Asylum in Upton. At the October 1907 London Covered Courts Championships at the Queens Club, Greene played at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and won a silver medal in the womens indoor singles event. Greene also placed fifth in the singles event. Greene was also a field hockey player. Greene moved to the island of Jersey where she died on 26 October 1956, in 2010 her Olympic medals were auctioned
11.
Hungary at the 1908 Summer Olympics
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Hungary competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England. Austria and Hungary had separate NOCs, therefore results at Olympic Games are kept separate despite the union of the two nations as Austria-Hungary at the time, hungarys best athletics result was István Somodis silver medal in the high jump. The Hungarian medley relay took the bronze medal. Hungary dominated the competitions, taking the top two individual medals and the team gold. The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report, archived from the original on 12 July 2006
12.
Austria at the 1908 Summer Olympics
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Austria competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England. Austrian and Hungarian results at early Olympic Games are generally kept separate despite the union of the two nations as Austria-Hungary at the time, austrias lone sabreur advanced to the second round before being eliminated. The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report, archived from the original on 12 July 2006
13.
France at the 1908 Summer Olympics
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France competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England. France finished in position in the final medal rankings, with five gold medals and 19 medals overall. The French team was one of three to take part in the competitions in 1908. They dominated the Continental style of archery, with the 15 French archers taking the top 11 places, as well as 13th, 14th, 16th, the two non-French archers in the event, a Briton and an American, took 12th and 15th, respectively. The team did not do as well in the York rounds, frances best athletics result was Géo Andrés silver medal in the high jump. France competed in 4 of the 5 boxing events, not winning any bouts, France took one of the gold medals in cycling with a win in the mens tandem. Schilles also finished first in the sprint, but the final was voided due to the time limit having been exceeded. France swept the épée competitions, taking all three medals and the team gold. France was represented by the two squads of France national football team & France B national football team. Each faced Denmark in its first match, with France coming off the loser both times, France had one boat enter competition in the motorboating events, winning a gold medal when that boat ended up being the only finisher in the open class. The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report, archived from the original on 12 July 2006
14.
Charlotte Cooper (tennis)
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Charlotte Cooper Sterry was a female tennis player from England who won five singles titles at the Wimbledon Championships and in 1900 became Olympic champion. Charlotte Cooper was born on 22 September 1870 at Waldham Lodge, Ealing, Middlesex, England, the youngest daughter of Henry Cooper, a miller, and his wife Teresa Georgiana Miller. She learned to play tennis at the Ealing Lawn Tennis Club where she was first coached by H. Lawrence and later by Charles Martin and she won her first senior singles title in 1893 at Ilkley. Between 1893 and 1917 she participated in 21 Wimbledon tournaments, at her first appearance she reached the semifinals of the singles event in which she lost to Blanche Bingley Hillyard. She won her first singles title in 1895, defeating Helen Jackson in the final of the All-Comers event, in that match she was down 0–5 in both sets but managed to win in straight sets. In 1896, she defended her title in the Challenge Round against Alice Simpson Pickering. Between 1897 and 1901 the titles were divided between Cooper Sterry and Bingley Hillyard, the 1902 Challenge Round match against Muriel Robb was halted on the first day of play due to rainfall at 6–4, 11–13. The match was replayed in its entirety the next day and Robb won 7–5, 6–1, playing a total of 53 games which was then a record for the longest womens singles final. In 1908 as a mother of two she won her last singles title when she defeated Agnes Morton in straight sets in the All-Comers final after a seven-year hiatus and at the age of 37. She is the oldest Wimbledons ladies’ singles champion and her record of eight singles finals stood until 1990 when Martina Navratilova reached her ninth consecutive singles final. In addition to her singles titles, Cooper Sterry also won seven All-England mixed doubles titles, five times with Harold Mahony and once with Laurence Doherty and Xenophon Casdagli. In 1913 she reached the final of the first Wimbledon womens doubles event with Dorothea Douglass,18 years after winning her first Wimbledon title and she won the singles title at the Irish Lawn Tennis Championships in 1895 and 1898, a prestigious tournament at the time. At the 1900 Summer Olympics, where women participated for the first time, on 11 July 1900 she defeated Hélène Prévost in the final in straight sets and became the first female Olympic tennis champion as well as the first individual female Olympic champion. With Reginald Doherty, she won the doubles title after a straight-sets victory in the final against Hélène Prévost. In 1901 she won the title at the German Championships. Cooper Sterry remained active in tennis and continued to play in championship events well into her 50s. On 12 January 1901 she married Alfred Sterry, a solicitor, Cooper Sterry, who had been deaf since the age of 26, died on 10 October 1966 at the age of 96, in Helensburgh, Scotland. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013, Cooper Sterry had an offensive style of playing, attacking the net when the opportunity arose
15.
Blanche Bingley
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Blanche Bingley Hillyard was an English tennis player. Born in Greenford in the London Borough of Ealing, Blanche Bingley was a member of the Ealing Lawn Tennis & Archery Club, in 1884, she competed in the first ever Wimbledon championships for women, and two years later she captured the first of her six singles titles. A seven-time finalist, Bingleys 13 finals remain a Wimbledon record as is the 14-year time span between her first and last titles, Bingleys Wimbledon record suggests that she was the second strongest female player of her day, only behind Lottie Dod, who defeated her in five finals. Once married to Commander George Whiteside Hillyard, Bingley was recorded with her husbands name and is listed in various records as Blanche Bingley Hillyard. At age 36, she won the Wimbledon final and continued to compete until age 49. Additionally, she won the South of England Championships at Eastbourne, Blanche Bingley Hillyard died in London in 1946. Her husband George Hillyard was one of the foremost mens players on the tennis circuit between 1886 and 1914. He also played first class cricket for Middlesex and Leicestershire, from 1907 to 1925, he was secretary of the All England Lawn Tennis Club and director of The Championships at Wimbledon between 1907 and 1925. He died in Bramfold, Pulborough, on 24 March 1943 and she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013. Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final Blanche Bingley at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
16.
Silver medal
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The outright winner receives a gold medal and the third place a bronze medal. More generally, silver is traditionally a metal used for all types of high-quality medals. In 1896, winners medals were in fact silver, the custom of gold-silver-bronze for the first three places dates from the 1904 games and has been copied for many other sporting events. Minting the medals is the responsibility of the host city, from 1972–2000, Cassiolis design remained on the obverse with a custom design by the host city on the reverse. Noting that Cassiolis design showed a Roman amphitheatre for what was originally a Greek games, winter Olympics medals have been of more varied design. In The Open Championship golf tournament, the Silver Medal is an award presented to the lowest scoring player at the tournament. Runner-up Medal Designs for all Olympic Games
17.
Bronze medal
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The outright winner receives a gold medal and the second place a silver medal. More generally, bronze is traditionally the most common used for all types of high-quality medals. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri, prior to which only first, minting Olympic medals is the responsibility of the host city. From 1972–2000, Cassiolis design remained on the obverse with a design by the host city on the reverse. Noting that Cassiolis design showed a Roman amphitheatre for what was originally a Greek game, winter Olympics medals have been of more varied design. In 1995, a study was carried out by social psychologists Victoria Medvec, Scott Madey, the study showed that athletes who won the bronze medal were significantly happier with their winning than those athletes who won the silver medal. The silver medalists were more frustrated because they had missed the gold medal and this is more pronounced in knockout competitions, where the bronze medals are achieved by winning a playoff, whereas silver medals are awarded after a defeat in the final. This psychological phenomenon was parodied in the Jerry Seinfeld special Im Telling You for the Last Time, bronze and brass ornamental work Third place playoff Medal Designs for all Olympic Games
18.
British Olympic Association
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The British Olympic Association is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It represents the Olympic movement and organises the participation of athletes at the summer, winter, sovereign Base Areas The BOA is one of 206 National Committees currently recognised by the International Olympic Committee. The IOC leads the promotion of Olympism in accordance with the Olympic Charter, working with the national governing bodies of each sport, the BOA selects Team GBs members to compete in all sports at the summer and winter Olympics. The BOA is independent and receives no funding from the government and its income comes from fundraising and events. The United Kingdom is one of five countries which have never failed to be represented at the Summer Olympic Games since 1896. Great Britain is also the nation in the Olympic Games to have won a Gold in every games. Great Britain has hosted three Olympic Games, all of them in London, in 1908,1948 and 2012 and it now includes as its members the thirty-three national governing bodies of each Olympic sport, both summer and winter. A representative of each of the Olympic sports makes up the NOC, the NOC elects three officers, a President, a Chairman, and a Vice-Chairman, each for a four-year term. Six members of the NOC are elected to the Board, which oversees the work of the BOA and it traces its roots back to the National Olympian Association, which held its inaugural meeting at the Liverpool Gymnasium, Myrtle Street, Liverpool in November 1865. It promoted a series of sporting events across Britain, with the aim of encouraging participation in Physical Education through Olympian festivals. The NOA came about mainly through the efforts of John Hulley of Liverpool, Dr. William Penny Brookes and it took the existing Olympian Games of Much Wenlock as its example, thus the NOA Games were open to all comers and not just the products of Britains public schools. After the NOA closed in 1883 its motto and ethos were inherited by the National Physical Recreation Society which was founded in 1885. From 1902 the President and Treasurer of the NPRS were members of the Olympic Comité Britannique and the NPRS was a founding body of the British Olympic Association in 1905
D Lambert Chambers (GBR)
K Cséry (HUN)
F Pietrzykowski (AUT)
K Fenwick (FRA)