Top 10 facts about tennis

Top 10 facts about tennis

On July 9, 1877, the first Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships began.

1. Wimbledon began life as the All England Croquet Club in 1868. Tennis was added in 1876. 

2. That was two years after Major Walter Clopton Wingfield had introduced the game he called “Sphairistiké” which grew into lawn tennis. 

3. Sphairistiké was played on an hourglass-shaped court with a net 4ft 8in high. 

4. The first Wimbledon tournament was held to raise money for repairs to their pony-drawn lawn roller. Entrants had to pay a guinea (£1.05) each. 

5. Spectators had to cough up one shilling (5p).The first prize was 12 guineas plus a silver cup. 

6. Goran Ivanisevic is the only player to win the men’s singles (in 2001) whose full name is a strict alternation of consonants and vowels. 

7. The only women’s singles winner with a similar property was Helena (“Lena”) Rice in 1890. 

8. The fastest recorded serve was set by Samuel Groth in 2012 at 163.4mph. 

9. At Wimbledon in 1932, the English player Henry “Bunny” Austin became the first to wear shorts at a major championship. 

10. The total prize money of £26,750,000 at Wimbledon this year would pay the basic annual salaries of 396 Members of Parliament.