Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England: see Merton.

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Wimbledon

Municipal center in the Greater London borough of Merton, known as the site of the annual lawn-tennis All-England Championships. Held in late June and early July, the tournament is the oldest (founded 1877) and most prestigious in the world. It is one of four tournaments that make up the Grand Slam of tennis, and the only one still played on natural grass. Competition was opened to professionals in 1968.

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Wimbledon

part of the Greater London borough of Merton: headquarters of the All England Lawn Tennis Club since 1877 and the site of the annual international tennis championships

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Wimbledon

Late June to early July; six weeks before first Monday in August

The oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, the Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon are held for 13 days each summer, beginning six weeks before the first Monday in August, on the manicured courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The first competition in 1877 was supposedly an attempt to raise money to purchase a new roller for the croquet lawns, and it featured only the men's singles event. Today the world's best tennis players compete for both singles and doubles titles that are the most coveted in tennis. The event is watched on television by tennis fans all over the world, many of whom get up at dawn or conduct all-night vigils around their television sets so as not to miss a single match. Members of the English royal family often watch the finals from the Royal Box.
The Centre Court at Wimbledon, where the championships are held, is off-limits to members and everyone except the grounds staff. On the Saturday before the competition begins, four women members of the club play two or three sets to "bruise" the grass and make sure the courts are in good shape.

CONTACTS:
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
Church Rd.
Wimbledon
London, SW19 5AE United Kingdom
44-20-8944-1066; fax: 44-20-8947-8752
www.wimbledon.org

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Wimbledon 

formerly, a municipal borough in the county of Surrey, Great Britain. In 1963 the borough was incorporated into the Merton Urban District (population, 175,000 in 1974) of Greater London. Wimbledon is linked with London by a subway line and a railroad. The All-England Lawn Tennis Championships, the unofficial world championships, are held annually in Wimbledon.