THE CHAMPIONSHIP WIMBLEDON

1. The first Wimbledon championship took place in 1877. Men’s Singles was the only event played that year. Ladies’ Singles and Men’s Doubles events were introduced in 1884. The Ladies’ Doubles and Mixed Doubles events were added to the tournament in 1913.
2. The game was invented in the UK by Walter Clopton Wingfield and was originally called “sphairistikè” – an ancient Greek word meaning “the art of playing ball.”
3. It’s been on TV for over 130 years, The first televised airing of The Championships, Wimbledon was by the BBC on 21 June 1937.
4. The longest match ever played at Wimbledon took place at the 2010 tournament. John Isner of the United States defeated French player Nicolas Mahut in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes and was played over the course of three days.
5. 28,000 kg of strawberries and 10,000 liters of cream are consumed during Wimbledon is synonymous with strawberries. That is why, every year, over 140,000 bowls of strawberries and cream are dished out for the spectators and players.
6. Most aces of all time As the finest stage in world tennis, Wimbledon sees the world’s best players come together to fight for the championship title. The matches are incredibly entertaining, and spectators marvel at the speed and accuracy with which the players serve up ace after ace!
7. The “predominately in white” rule was introduced in 1963 before the “almost entirely in white rule” was brought in in 1995. Accessories were included in the rule from 2014. Competitors must be dressed in suitable tennis attire that is almost entirely white and this applies from the point at which the player enters the court surround.
8. England is rainy – that’s a fact. It is also a fact that rain is bad for tennis, which is why Wimbledon installed a retractable roof to the ceiling in 2009. Designed to open or close according to the weather, this technology makes it possible for the players to continue the match during rainy days.

Court (Centre) – roof stats

1. – 8 liters per second of fresh air per person pumped into the bowl to manage the environment.
2. – 9 chiller units required to cool the air.
3. – 10 minutes (maximum) that the roof takes to close.
4. – 10 trusses holding up the roof.
5. – 16 meters (height of the roof above the court surface).
6. – 30 minutes: maximum time expected before play can start/continue after the roof is closed and the internal environment is controlled and stabilized.
7. – 43mph: wind speed up to which the roof can be deployed/retracted.
8. – 70 tons: weight of each of the 10 trusses without extra parts.
9. – 77 meters: the span of the moving roof trusses (width of football pitch = 68m).
10. – 100 tonnes: weight of each of the 10 trusses with all extras – e.g. motors, locking arms.
11. – 100 percent of the roof’s fabric is recyclable.
12. – 214 MM per second – maximum speed of truss deployment.
13. – 1,200 extra seats installed in 2008.
14. – 3,000 tons: combined weight (both fixed and moving) of the roof.
15. – 5,200 square meters, area of retractable roof when fully deployed.
16. – 7,500 Wimbledon umbrellas would be needed to cover the same area as the retractable roof.
17. – 15,000: maximum spectator capacity.
18. – 143,000 liters per second: total amount of conditioned air that the air-management system supplies to the bowl.
19. – 290 million: number of tennis balls that could fit into Centre Court with the roof closed

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