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Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, London

Tim Henman at Wimbledon in 2005 - this image is copyright free

Tennis had existed as a game played at European royal courts from the fifteenth century. The game came to England via Prince Charles D'Orleans, grandson of Charles VI of France, who was captured at the Battle of Agincourt. Prince Charles was imprisoned at Wingfield Castle, and taught tennis to his jailers. Hundreds of years later in 1873 a direct descendent of the jailer of Charles D'Orleans, a Major Clopton Wingfield, published a book of tennis rules. The following year he produced a kit containing all that was needed to play tennis outdoors on a lawn. The idea for lawn tennis spread quickly - by the summer of 1874 there is a recorded match in Massachusetts using imported English equipment. By 1877 the All England Croquet Club in Wimbledon south London decided they would try staging a tennis tournament. The All England Croquet Club had been set up in 1868 at the offices of the Field magazine. It was in the Field magazine that an advertisement appeared on 9th June 1877 inviting competitors to play in a Wimbledon tennis tournament. Entry required a fee of one pound and one shilling, and players were expected to provide their own rackets and shoes. The tennis committee had decided to modify Wingfield's rules. Instead of his hour glass shaped court, a rectangular court was stipulated, twenty six yards long, by nine yards wide, with the net being suspended from posts three feet outside the court. Tennis scoring as it is now was adopted. Tennis in its modern form was created at Wimbledon (see Helen Walker's article in Sport In Britain, A Social History for more information).

Twenty two men entered the first championships, and Spencer Gore was the eventual winner. Gore professed himself "puzzled pretty considerably" by the scoring system, and wasn't convinced the game would catch on. But by the 1880s the popular Renshaw twins were generating great interest, with up to 2000 people turning up to watch their games. A ladies championship beginning in 1884 added to Wimbledon's popularity. Into the early twentieth century tennis was popular enough to influence clothing fashions and hairstyles. In 1912 the French player Suzanne Lenglen made her debut at Wimbledon, causing some shock when she refused to wear the usual corset. Her liberated style of clothes and her bobbed hairstyle, known as the Lenglen Bandeau, were widely copied.

 

By 1921 the championships had outgrown the original wooden court at Worple Road. A new stadium at Church Road was built, which included a Centre Court built in concrete, capable of accommodating 15,000 people. The new complex opened in 1922 - while the former building became the sports pavilion at Wimbledon Girls High School. The next big change for Wimbledon was a change in outlook rather than buildings. Since 1926 there had been a professional tour, which had increasingly split the tennis world. Amateur tournaments like Wimbledon were beginning to lose top players to the professional circuit, and were seeing attendances fall. Reacting to this situation it was announced in December 1967 that distinctions between amateurs and professionals would be removed. The first Wimbledon Championship with monetary prizes followed in 1968, Rod Laver winning £2000 as men's champion, and Billie Jean King winning £750 as ladies champion. Today Wimbledon champions earn millions. Some of this comes from prize money, but most comes from corporate sponsorship. Even now, however, it should not really be thought that tennis, and Wimbledon as its biggest tournament, are simply businesses. As the sports historian Wray Vamplew points out it is a characteristic of sport that profit is not the top priority (see Professional Sport In Britain 1875 - 1914 for example). People running sport can't seem to help wanting to win championships more than money. This is seen graphically in the approach of major club owners in football. Similarly Wimbledon can't seem to help putting the fortunes of British tennis before profit. In 2009 the Wimbledon Championships generated a surplus of £25,667,000, but the official position regarding these funds is as follows: "Funds generated by the Championships, less tax, are to be used by the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) to develop tennis in Great Britain. In December 2008 the Club and the LTA agreed that the LTA is to benefit from receiving 90% of any distributable financial surplus resulting from the Championships until at least 2053" (see Finance AELTG plc role of LTA 2009). Wimbledon gives 90% of its profits away to develop the game in Britain. Sport does not work to the same economic rules as other businesses. People put their hopes and dreams into their sports. Even now it seems, with the amateur ideal a distant memory, tennis still puts sport above profit.

 

The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum has a collection that dates back to 1555. The championship trophies are on display, along with an extensive collection of tennis memorabilia, and video footage of great players in action.

 

Opening Times: The museum is open daily 10am - 5pm most of the year, except for the middle Sunday of the championships, the Monday immediately after the championships, 24th - 26th December and 1st January. Also closed 9th to 27th July, and 7th to 15th August. Open to olympic ticket holders only from 28th July to 6th August. The museum is only open to ticket holders during The championships.

It is possible to book guided tours, except during the championship period. The tour starts on the Tea Lawn, takes in Number 1 Court, the museum, the players' entrance, the press room, and finishes on Centre Court.

Directions: To get to Wimbledon go to Southfields (District Line) or South Wimbledon (Northern Line) and then take bus 493, or take a ten minute train ride from Waterloo to South Wimbledon station. By road, from central London, take the A3, turn onto the A219, down Parkside, turn into Church Road.

Access: a leaflet gives details of wheelchair friendly routes around the site, along with positions of adapted toilets and accessible catering facilities. Two electric scooters are available for use. There is provision for visitors in wheelchairs at all courts.

Contact:

telephone: 020 8971 2473

fax: 020 8947 8752

web: www.wimbledon.org

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