WELCOME TO WIMBLEDON!
The world’s most famous tennis tournament starts tomorrow and for two weeks the eyes of the world will be on London SW19
WE THOUGHT we would serve you some behindthe-scenes facts about Wimbledon that will leave you saying, “You cannot be serious!”
FOOD AND DRINK
Wimbledon is the largest single annual sporting catering operation carried out in Europe. On any one day there are 39,000 people in the grounds of the All England Club and it takes 1,800 catering staff to keep them happy. In two weeks spectators will get through 300,000 cups of tea and coffee, 250,000 bottles of water, 207,000 meals and 190,000 sandwiches.
They will also consume 15,000 bananas, 20,000 portions of frozen yoghurt, 11.8 tons of poached and smoked salmon, 6,000 stone-baked pizzas and 32,000 portions of fish and chips. All washed down with 200,000 glasses of Pimm’s, 100,000 pints of draught beer and lager and 6,600 gallons of milk. Plus, of course, what makes Wimbledon even more special – more than 150,000 glasses of bubbly.
CHAMPERS AND STRAWBERRIES
Over the fortnight 25,000 bottles of Lanson champagne will be opened – it is the only brand that is available at Wimbledon. Lanson has been By Royal Appointment since Queen Victoria gave it a Royal Warrant in 1901 and for the past 39 years it has been poured in the Royal Box on Centre Court.
To go with the champers, 27 tons of English strawberries from Kent (that is 112,000 punnets) will be served with 1,539 gallons of fresh cream. Every strawberry is picked the day before being served and they arrive at Wimbledon at 5.30am each day for a final inspection by hand. A punnet averages 10 berries and this year costs £2.50.
RAIN AND THE ROOF
Since 1922 only seven Wimbledons have been rain-free: 1931, 1976, 1977, 1993, 1995, 2009 and 2010. The 55,972 sq ft Centre Court retractable roof covers an area equivalent to 7,500 umbrellas and can be closed in less than 10 minutes in winds of up to 43 miles an hour.
The traditional Centre Court covers, which weigh one ton, can be pulled over by 16 men in 30 seconds and because they are see-through they allow light on to the grass to keep it in tip-top condition.
With the roof closed Centre Court could hold 290 million tennis balls and it seats 14,979 spectators. The Royal Box contains 74 dark green Lloyd Loom wicker chairs and the Queen attended Wimbledon in 1957, 1962, 1977 and 2010.
CELEBRITY CORNER
Wimbledon officials are always tight-lipped about which celebrities will attend but there is always a host of famous faces around Centre Court.
Sir Cliff Richard, a keen tennis player, went for 20 years in a row until last year when he faced false sexual allegations. He may be back this year as no charges are being brought – and who will ever forget his impromptu concert in the rain in 1996?
Two famous faces missing this year will be the late Sir Terry Wogan and Sir Bruce Forsyth, who is recovering from illness.
Popular guests in previous years included Kate Winslet and Benedict Cumberbatch. Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton was famously refused entry to the Royal Box in 2013 because he was not wearing a jacket and tie.
BALLS AND RACKETS
Slazenger has supplied the balls since 1902 and this year is sending 52,200, of which about 20,000 are used in qualifying and practice. The balls are stored at a constant 68F and every one will have been tested by hand for bounce, compression and weight.
At the start of each day’s play 48 tins of balls are taken on to Centre Court and No.1 Court and 24 tins on to all the 17 outside championship courts. Wimbledon also has 22 grass practice courts.
“New balls, please” is called by the umpire after the first seven games of a match (to allow for the fact they have been used in the warm-up), and then after every further nine games.
In Wimbledon fortnight the repairs team string about 2,000 rackets – 60 per cent of them for the hard-hitting men players – and use more than 40 miles of string (which is usually either nylon, polyester or Kevlar).
SOUVENIR BUSINESS
Souvenirs are big business and last year the Wimbledon shop sold 19,500 Men’s Championships towels, 11,830 mini tennis ball keyrings, 9,500 Women’s Championships towels, 8,352 packs of sweatbands and 7,553 racket-shaped keyrings. You can also buy used balls from the tournament at £2.50 for a can of three. The proceeds go to the Lawn Tennis Association’s balls for schools scheme.
This year Lanson’s sought-after bottle cooler jackets in the shape of blue or pink tennis shirts will be given out with every bottle bought. In previous years they have become a collectors’ item.
ALL ENGLAND CLUB
Wimbledon began at the All England Club in 1877 and is the world’s oldest tennis tournament. It is also the world’s highest paid tennis competition – this year there’s £28million to be won. The winners of the men’s and women’s singles will pocket £2million each and singles runners-up take home £1million each.
The record for the most Championships won since professional players were included in 1968 is seven, jointly held by Pete Sampras (1993–1995, 1997–2000) and Roger Federer (2003–2007, 2009, 2012).
Bjorn Borg (1976–1980) and Federer (2003–2007) jointly hold the record for the most consecutive victories – five.
Martina Navratilova has won the Women’s Singles a record nine times and also shares a record of winning 20 Wimbledon titles (including doubles and mixed doubles) with Billie Jean King.
Martina Hingis became the youngest player to win a title at the age of 15 years 282 days in 1996 by triumphing in the doubles championship.
The record for the most aces served in a single championship is 212 by the Croatian player Goran Ivanisevic in 2001. The most aces served by a woman is 80, achieved by Serena Williams last year.
The fastest serve ever was by Taylor Dent in 2010, who hit a ball at 148mph. The fastest women’s serve was by Venus Williams in 2008 – at 129mph.
The maximum number of people allowed in the grounds at any one time is 39,000. The attendance record for the 13 days of the tournament was set last year at 484,391.
BALL BOYS AND UMPIRES
Every year about 750 youngsters apply to be ball boys and girls. Only 250 are chosen after undergoing a rigorous training regime. There will be 350 umpires and line judges on duty. Most of them are British with about 60 from overseas.
All the white lines on the court are two inches wide except the baselines, which are four inches.
Apart from players and ground staff almost the only other people allowed to go on the grass are the 26 who operate the Hawkeye electronic line-calling system. Hawkeye is accurate to within two-tenths of an inch.
LONGEST MATCH
The longest match ever was played on Number 18 court in 2010 – it was spread over three days. After 11 hours and 5 minutes of play American John Isner finally beat Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68.
The final set lasted eight hours and 11 minutes, which was one hour 38 minutes longer than the previous longest match in tennis history. A staggering 980 points were played in total, Isner served 113 aces (a record for the most in one match) and an incredible 123 balls were used.
You can find more amazing facts about the tournament at www.wimbledon.com