Wimbledon (officially “The Championships, Wimbledon”) is one of the four Grand Slam Tennis tournaments with the others in Australia, France, and the United States respectively. However, Wimbledon is not only the first of the four, dating back to 1877 but also the only one still being played on grass. This inspiring history and the traditional grass courts, combined with its half-million spectators and 13-million broadcasting viewership the finals in 2015, Wimbledon is regarded as the most prestigious Grand Slam.
Held over the course of two weeks in late June or early July, Wimbledon buzzes with excitement as players compete for titles in singles, doubles or other categories, through best-of-five or best-of-three sets. Most categories are single-elimination style tournaments, with the most popular ones (the singles) featuring 128 ladies and an equal number of gentlemen.
Wimbledon is one of the few top sports events that still has tickets available on the individual days of the tournament (the exception being the last four days, where all tickets are sold in advance). If you plan to visit, check out their website for more information.
The Wimbledon venue itself holds 39,000 spectators at a time, who, over the course of the 14 days will consume 140,000 servings of English strawberries (with cream!) and 320,000 cups of Pimm’s (a typical English alcoholic, but refreshing beverage). If you do attend, do not miss out on this delicious tradition.
Things to bring yourself include some snacks (strawberries only feed you so much, and munchies will be expensive on the grounds), sunscreen and some plastic water bottles. If it is sunny, do bring a hat but make sure it has a small brim. Larger brims obstruct the view of people around you and are considered poor manners. For the same reason, a lightweight rain poncho will be your go to if it is raining, leave the umbrella at home. ‘No-Nos’ include free things that might be given away outside the venue (advertising companies trying to get the strongly branded items in the view of the TV-cameras). Adjusting to the 21st century, Wimbledon also banned the use selfie-sticks on the grounds.
