After 2 long years, Wimbledon is here! The latest edition starts this Monday after it was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Players including Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Serena Williams are all on the cusp of tennis history. They want to add to their tally and claim the history! Tennis is all about finesse, athleticism, and tradition. Here are 10 very interesting and unique facts about Wimbledon Championships:
#1 Wimbledon Facts & Figures
Most number of Aces in Wimbledon (in a single season)
- Gentlemen: 214 – John Isner (USA) in 2018
- Ladies: 102 – Serena Williams (USA) in 2012
Fastest Serves (All-Time)
- Gentlemen: 148mph – Taylor Dent, USA (2010)
- Ladies: 129mph – Venus Williams, USA (2008)
#2 Wimbledon Facts & Figures
The prestigious Wimbledon – Slazenger Partnership dates back to the year 1902. It is the longest-standing partnership ever in the entire history of sports sponsorships. Slazenger officially supplies tennis balls to Wimbledon.
Wimbledon began using yellow balls in 1986. About 53,000 balls have been used to date. These balls are stored at 68℉. New balls are introduced after the first 7 games, and thereafter every 9 games the balls are changed. At the beginning of the day, 48 tins are taken to the Centre and No.1 Courts and 24 tins to all the outside courts.
#3 Wimbledon Facts & Figures
The “almost entirely in white” rule” was brought in in 1995. Even accessories were included in 2014. Competitors must be dressed in an all-white tennis attire from the point of entering the court premises. The decision on the suitability of a players’ clothing is at the discretion of the Referee.
#4 Wimbledon Facts & Figures
Let’s see some facts about the revered Centre Court of Wimbledon.
- 8 litres/second of fresh air per person is pumped in to manage the whole environment.
- 9 chiller units are used to cool the air.
- The roof takes 10 minutes to close.
- The roof is being held by 10 trusses.
- It takes a maximum of 30 minutes to start/continue playing after the roof is closed. This time is needed to control and stabilize the internal environment.
- The roof can be deployed/retracted against a maximum wind speed of 43mph.
- Each one of the 10 trusses weighs 70 tonnes.
- The span of moving roof trusses is 77 metres.
- 100% of the roof’s material (fabric) is recyclable.
- 1,200 extra seats were installed in 2008.
- The combined weight of the roof is 3000 tonnes.
- The area of the fully deployed roof is 5200 square metres.
- 7,500 Wimbledon umbrellas would be needed to cover the area that the retractable roof covers.
- The maximum spectator capacity is 15000.
- The total amount of conditioned air supplied to the bowl per second is 143,000 litres.
- If the roof was closed, 290 million tennis balls could fit into Centre Court.
- The playing height of the grass in the Championships is 8mm.
- The Court grass is 100% ryegrass.
- The ground’s size is 13.5 acres and including car parks is 42 acres.
#5 Wimbledon Facts & Figures
38 courts are used to conduct Wimbledon matches in total. 18 of these are Championship grass courts and the other 20 are practice courts in Aorangi Park and at Southlands College. The Electronic Line Calling system covers Centre Court Nos. 1-3 and Courts 12-18.
#6 Wimbledon Facts & Figures
Wimbledon has about 3000 catering staff serving the single largest annual sporting catering operation in Europe. Here are some interesting insights on the same.
- A total of 18,061 fish and chips servings
- Total of 6,147 pasta servings for competitors
- Total 4,242 sushi servings for competitors
- A total of 276,291 glasses of Pimm’s served
- 64,703 ice cream portions/sticks served in total
- 191,930 portions of strawberries served in total
- 234,416 meals have been served in total
#7 Wimbledon Facts & Figures
Let’s discuss the longest match in Wimbledon history.
- The longest match was played between John Isner of the USA and Nicolas Mahut of France which lasted 11 Hours 5 Mins
- This match took place in 2010 on Court 18 and was played over 3 days.
- John Isner ended up beating Nicolas Mahut in probably the most interesting match: 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68
- The final set lasted 8hrs and 11mins which was 1hr and 38mins longer than the previous record.
- 980 points were played in total out of which Mahut won 502 and Isner 478.
- Isner ended up serving the most aces in a match: 113
- 123 balls were used in the match.
#8 Wimbledon Facts & Figures
A Harris Hawk, Rufus, has been trained by Imogen Davis of Avian Control. It visits the Club regularly to provide to make the local regions aware of a predator on the grounds. It flies for an hour on most mornings of The Championships before the gates open.
#9 Wimbledon Facts & Figures
Wimbledon is also famous for boasting the largest TV Screen located just outside the Centre & Main Courts. Thousands of tennis fans come together to watch the Wimbledon matches on this LARGE SCREEN TV. The screen is 40 sq metres in size.
#10 Wimbledon Facts & Figures
The stringing team of The Championships strings an average of over 2,000 rackets. Out of these 60% are for men and 40% for women. This is approximately over 40 miles of string.
