Wimbledon · History

Roger Federer has won the Wimbledon men's singles more times than anyone else: eight titles, in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2017. The women's record belongs to Martina Navratilova, with nine titles: 1978, 1979, six in a row from 1982 to 1987, and 1990. Next on the lists are William Renshaw, Pete Sampras and Novak Djokovic, with seven men's titles each, and Helen Wills Moody, with eight women's titles. The Championships, the tournament's official name, is the Grand Slam event played on grass at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in the Wimbledon district of London. It was first held in 1877 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the world.

Origins at Worple Road

The club was founded in 1868 as the All England Croquet Club. In the spring of 1877 it was renamed the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, and that summer it staged its first championship, with a single men's event. Spencer Gore won it. The courts were at Worple Road at the time. In 1884 two events were added: the ladies' singles, first won by Maud Watson, and the men's doubles, which until then had been played in Oxford. The same years belonged to William Renshaw, who won six titles in a row from 1881 to 1886 and a seventh in 1889. Ladies' doubles and mixed doubles became official events in 1913.

Church Road and the amateur years

The tournament was not held from 1915 to 1918 because of the First World War. When it resumed, France's Suzanne Lenglen dominated the women's event, winning in 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923 and 1925. In 1922 the club moved to its Church Road grounds, where the tournament is still played. American Helen Wills Moody won eight titles between 1927 and 1938, and Britain's Fred Perry won three in a row, in 1934, 1935 and 1936. The Second World War interrupted the event again from 1940 to 1945. Until 1967 only amateurs were allowed to enter.

The Open Era

In 1968 Wimbledon opened its draws to professionals. The first champion of the Open Era was Rod Laver, who had been barred from the tournament from 1963 to 1967 after turning professional. Sweden's Björn Borg won five straight titles from 1976 to 1980. Navratilova built her record over the next two decades, and Pete Sampras won all seven finals he reached between 1993 and 2000. Steffi Graf and Serena Williams each won seven singles titles. In 2010 John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played the longest match in tennis history in the first round: 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days, with the American taking the fifth set 70-68.

Grass, white clothing and roofs

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam played on grass. Players have been required to wear white since 1963. Hawk-Eye line review arrived in 2007. Centre Court got a retractable roof in 2009, and No. 1 Court had one from 2019. That year a final-set tiebreak at 12-12 was introduced. In 2022 the tournament adopted the format shared by all four majors, a first-to-ten tiebreak at 6-6. Also in 2022, play was scheduled on the Middle Sunday for the first time. It had been a rest day before then, and rain had forced play on it only in 1991, 1997, 2004 and 2016. Qualifying takes place a week earlier at Roehampton. Since 2025, electronic line calling has replaced line judges.

Cancellation and return

The 2020 tournament was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first time the event had not been held since the Second World War. By then the men's title had already moved into a new era. In 2013 Andy Murray became the first British man to win it since Fred Perry, 77 years earlier. Novak Djokovic won his seventh title in 2022, drawing level with Sampras and Renshaw. Carlos Alcaraz beat him in the finals of 2023 and 2024.

The 2025 and 2026 champions

In 2025 Jannik Sinner beat Alcaraz in the final 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. He was the first Italian man to win the singles title. That same year Iga Swiatek won the women's final 6-0, 6-0 against Amanda Anisimova in 57 minutes. In 2026 Czech player Linda Nosková won her first Grand Slam title, beating compatriot Karolína Muchová 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in the final. She was the tenth different women's champion in ten editions. The next day, 12 July 2026, Sinner kept his title, coming from a set down to beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4.