Wimbledon is known today as the world’s oldest tennis tournament. Its story begins back in 1877. That year, the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, located in the Wimbledon area of London, decided to hold its first lawn tennis competition. This marked the start of the championships.
From the very beginning, the tournament was played on outdoor grass courts. The first event, held in July 1877, was a Gentlemen’s Singles competition. Twenty-two amateur players signed up to compete. A man named Spencer Gore emerged as the winner, becoming the first-ever Wimbledon champion in front of a few hundred spectators who paid a shilling each to watch the final.
Lawn tennis was still a fairly new sport at that time. The early Wimbledon tournaments probably felt quite different from the massive international event we see today. The grounds of the All England Club provided a leafy setting. The atmosphere might have resembled a large social gathering or garden party centered around the emerging sport, rather than a high-pressure professional competition.
Even in these early years, some traditions began to form. Players typically wore white clothing, which gradually developed into the strict all-white dress code Wimbledon is known for. The custom of enjoying strawberries and cream while watching the matches also started early on, becoming closely linked with the tournament experience. Spectators were part of the event from the start, showing an early interest in watching lawn tennis matches.
The tournament quickly began to expand. While the first championship only included men’s singles, other events were added soon after. A Ladies’ Singles championship was introduced in 1884, allowing women to compete. Men’s doubles competitions also became part of the schedule around the same period, making the tournament larger and more varied in its early stages.
