The History of Wimbledon - Most Notable

The world's oldest annual tennis tournament, Wimbledon was first held by the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club in July 1877. Twenty-one players competed in the inaugural Gentlemen's Singles tournament, and Spencer Gore became the first-ever Wimbledon champion. Wimbledon remained a men's-only tournament until 1884, when Maud Watson became the first Lady's Singles champion. Wimbledon was strictly an amateur tournament until 1968, when it began allowing professionals to play.

In addition to ranking as the oldest tennis tournament in the world, Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam played on grass. It also stands out from other tennis tournaments in that it requires players to dress almost entirely in white clothing. Umpires can even enforce this rule. One umpire, in 2013, made defending champion Roger Federer change his shoes because the soles were orange.

Federer, who is tied with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal for the all-time lead in Grand Slam victories, has won Wimbledon more than any other male player in the sport's history. He recorded his first of eight Wimbledon championships in 2003 with a straight set victory over Australia's Mark Philippoussis in the final. That marked the first of five consecutive titles at Wimbledon for Federer, who defeated American Andy Roddick in the 2004 and 2005 finals and Nadal in the 2006 and 2007 finals. He won again in 2009, 2012, and 2017, and was runner-up in 2008, 2014, 2015, and 2019.

Four other men have won Wimbledon at least five times. Pete Sampras and William Renshaw have each won the tournament seven times, while Djokovic and Bjorn Borg have won six and five times, respectively. Renshaw, one of the earliest stars at Wimbledon, won the tournament in six consecutive years from 1881 to 1886 and again in 1889. Sampras won Wimbledon in seven of eight years from 1993 to 2000, while Borg won in five straight years from 1976 to 1980.

Despite the sustained success of the aforementioned male players, no other tennis player has won at Wimbledon more than Martina Navratilova. The native of Czechoslovakia won her first Wimbledon championship in 1978 by defeating Chris Evert in the final; she won in seven of the next nine years and defeated Evert again in four of those finals. Navratilova won her ninth and final Wimbledon championship in 1990. Meanwhile, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams have each won Wimbledon seven times.

Wimbledon has featured some of the most memorable and iconic tennis matches of all time, including the 2008 and 1980 finals. Nadal defeated Federer in the former to end the Swiss star's run of five consecutive Wimbledon championships. The match constituted a battle between two dominant players, as combined, Nadal and Federer had won 14 of the prior 16 Grand Slam titles. Federer came back from a 5-2 deficit in the fourth set, while Nadal saved 12 of 13 break points to win the decisive fifth set.

The men's final at Wimbledon in 1980 was equally memorable. Borg, who had won the prior four championships at the All England Club, defeated American John McEnroe. The back-and-forth battle saw McEnroe dominate in the first set before dropping the subsequent two sets, then overcoming a pair of championship points in the fourth set before winning a 34-point tiebreaker.