Sports Almanac

The **first Wimbledon Championship** took place in **1877**, and it was the inaugural tennis tournament of what is now the oldest tennis championship in the world. Here are all the known pertinent details: --- ### **Event Overview** - **Name**: The Wimbledon Championship - **Location**: **All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club**, Worple Road, Wimbledon, London, England - **Surface**: Grass - **Dates**: **July 9 – July 19, 1877** --- ### **Format and Participants** - **Event Type**: Gentlemen's Singles (the only event held that year) - **Number of Entrants**: 22 players - **Entry Fee**: **One guinea** per participant - **Competition Format**: Single-elimination tournament - **Final Match Format**: Best-of-five sets --- ### **Special Details** - **Court Dimensions**: The court was **26 feet wide** and **78 feet long**, differing slightly from modern dimensions. - **Ball Specification**: Hand-stitched balls were used. - **Rules**: Played under a version of the **Lawn Tennis Rules**, which were not yet standardized by the Lawn Tennis Association (formed in 1888). - The **net height** was 5 feet at the posts and 3 feet in the middle. - **Scoring** followed the same 15-30-40 format, but the "deuce" concept had not yet been formalized. --- ### **Key Figures** - **Champion**: **Spencer Gore** - **Nationality**: British - **Winning Prize**: 12 guineas and a silver cup valued at 25 guineas. - **Runner-Up**: **William Marshall** - **Nationality**: British - **Umpires**: Provided by the All England Club; names not recorded. --- ### **Final Match** - **Date**: **July 19, 1877** - **Match Duration**: 48 minutes - **Scoreline**: Spencer Gore defeated William Marshall **6–1, 6–2, 6–4**. - Gore dominated the match with his aggressive volleying play, while Marshall was more of a baseline player. - The final was watched by **around 200 spectators**, who each paid **one shilling** for admission. --- ### **Tournament Notes** - The tournament experienced a **rain delay**, which extended the competition to 10 days. - This event marked the beginning of organized competitive tennis and laid the foundation for the sport's global popularity. - The event was overshadowed slightly in contemporary society by **cricket**, which was the dominant summer sport in England at the time. --- ### **Cultural and Historical Impact** - This first Wimbledon is seen as a key moment in the history of tennis, as it established a formal competition structure. - Spencer Gore is noted as the **first Wimbledon champion** and the first recorded proponent of volleying, though he later remarked that he thought tennis was not likely to become very popular! --- If there are any other specific details or aspects you’d like to know, feel free to ask!