The Wimbledon Championships are the oldest in tennis, with the inaugural event taking place in 1877.
At that time, the Championships were held at a ground near Worple Road in south-west London, where they stayed until 1922 when they moved to their current location near Church Road.
The Championships are held annually between late June and the beginning of July. The tournament lasts for two weeks and usually ends on the second Sunday of July.
For the first seven years, the Championships only featured the Gentlemen's Singles event, until, in 1884, the Ladies' Singles and Gentlemen's Doubles events were added to broaden the tournament's appeal. In 1913, the Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles events were also added to the schedule.
In recent years more events have been added, including numerous boys and girls youth tournaments as well as over-35, over-45 events and wheelchair doubles.
The famous layout of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, where the tournament is held, also contributes to the fantastic atmosphere of the Championship. All the events are played simultaneously on the Club's 19 courts, with the famous Centre Court literally the centre of the Club's layout.
Wimbledon is also famous for being the only Grand Slam event of the year to be played on a natural grass surface, which makes the event instantly recognisable due to the lush, manicured lawns and playing surfaces.
Because of the long and prestigious history of the Championships, tradition is an important part of the tournament.
Uniquely for a Grand Slam the players are required to follow a dress code by the All England Club, described as 'almost entirely white'.
Another Wimbledon tradition is the famous Wimbledon spectator's snack of strawberries and cream. Approximately 28,000 kilograms of strawberries and 5, 800 litres of cream are consumed each year during the Championships.
In recent years however, many of the more archaic traditions have been dropped, including using the title of Mrs. or Ms. for female players, and referring to married female players by their husbands names (e.g. Chris Evert-Lloyd as Mrs. J. M. Lloyd when married to John Lloyd).
Unfortunately for the hosts, no Englishman has won the Men's singles event since Fred Perry in 1936, while Englishwomen have fared slightly better, with Virginia Wade the last to lift the trophy in 1977.
Due to the highly specific skill-set required to flourish on the grass, a few players have dominated proceedings at SW 19 throughout the Open era.
Bjorn Borg won six consecutive titles from 1975 to 1980 before giving way to the likes of John McEnroe and later Boris Becker, who reached seven finals and won thrice. The German’s dominance was ended by Pete Sampras, who won seven titles from 1993 to 2000, becoming the most successful men’s player at Wimbledon in the Open era.
And then, after a couple of transitory years, the baton was taken over by Roger Federer – who won six times from 2003 to 2009. The Swiss remains a huge threat on grass, but both Rafael Nadal, the defending champion and Novak Djokovic will be eyeing the prize this year.
In the women’s draw too, there have been a few players who’ve made Wimbledon their backyard down the ages. Martina Navratilova was the unquestioned queen through the 1980s, winning nine titles, before being dethroned by Steffi Graf in the 90s. Graf won seven titles with a span of nine years from 1988 to 1996.
After the rise and fall of Martina Hingis, the centre court has seen the Williams sisters win seven eight times in the last decade. However, both are currently suffering from long-term injuries and the stage is set for a new player to take over the reins at SW19.
