On this day, the first Wimbledon Championship started at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. Originally a croquet club founded in 1868 at the height of a croquet craze, in 1875 the club incorporated the infant sport of lawn tennis, introduced by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield and originally called Sphairistikè. At the time of the first championship, the service was underarm and the net was considerably higher than today. The winner of the first edition, Spencer Gores, is recorded as having said, “Lawn tennis will never rank among our great games.” He could not have guessed then that tennis was destined to become a major international sport, that Wimbledon was to become a Mecca for tennis enthusiasts worldwide, and that the only Grand Slam event still to be held on grass courts in the modern era would be Wimbledon.
Wimbledon is truly the Mecca of tennis, the quintessential TENNIS in big letters. Players dressed in white, no adverts, no blaring music between changeovers, the Royal Box… and may the best man win. Let’s hope it’s Jannik!
Let’s hope his elbow is up to it today!
If he takes a cue from me, he will: my elbow is always at the right height, slightly above my lips.
I think he may need to find some other positions for his elbow if he wants to beat Brutal Ben!
You could have a point there, it’s me that won’t need to find any other positions for my elbow if he beats Brutal Ben!
😂😂😂