Sport Wimbledon

12 ace facts about Wimbledon served to you with love

It’s Wimbledon time again, so we’ve rallied around to serve you 12 ace facts about the UK’s largest annual tennis tournament. 

1.
Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, the first taking place in 1887.

2.
During the Championships, the grass on the Wimbledon tennis courts is maintained at a height of
8mm (and is 100% perennial ryegrass)

3.
Approximately 55,000 tennis balls are used during the Wimbledon Championships each year.

4.
At Wimbledon, tennis balls not in use are stored in a refrigerated container at 68°F

5.
With the retractable roof closed, approximately 290 million tennis balls could fit inside Wimbledon’s Centre Court.

6.
The current men’s record for the fastest ever serve at Wimbledon was by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard with a serve of 153 mph (246 km/h).

7.
The longest ever match at Wimbledon took 11 hours and 5 minutes over 3 days.

8.
Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam played on grass courts.

9.
The balls used at Wimbledon used to be white but were replaced with yellow balls so that they would be more visible on TV.

10.
The loudest grunt ever at Wimbledon was in 2009 by Maria Sharapova in 2009. It was 105 decibels, which is about the loudness of an accelerating motorbike.

11.
Over 1.9 million strawberries and 7,000 litres of cream are eaten at Wimbledon each year. 

12.
The original reason for players wearing all white at Wimbledon was because white clothing was considered to be better for hiding sweat patches. At this time, visible sweat stains were considered unseemly and unhygienic. 

Image Wikimedia Commons