What's so special about Wimbly?

Wimbledon has just announced that its grass courts have been opened. It’s 47 days until the All England Club throws wide its gates once again, and I'm excited. The gladiatorial combat of the likes of Djokovic and Federer, Serena’s power, Murray’s grit, Nadal’s arms. The sunshine, even the groans and laughs in the inevitable rain, and Pimm’s. So much Pimm’s. For me, the tennis whites are no coincidence. Wimbledon is like heaven on earth.

And I’m not alone. Wimbledon continues to be the undisputed pinnacle of the tennis calendar, for fans and players alike, despite the fact the grass season is the shortest of both the ATP and WTA tours. So I can't help but question why?

Is it purely an emotional reaction? Yes, I’m English, but there is just no other tournament like it. The French Open is nice and sunny, but it doesn’t feel any different to the Italian Open. The American is bombastic, and the Australian is laid-back, but they’re just big hard court tournaments. Wimbledon has a magic about it, not least because it’s also the oldest one. It’s where it all began.

In the summer of 1877, the All England Croquet & Lawn Tennis Club, a private club nestled in the leafy London suburb of Wimbledon, ran into a spot of bother. The pony roller used to flatten their lawns broke down. To raise the repair funds, they decided to organize a lawn tennis championship.

In those days, it was a garden party. You went to socialise, to enjoy afternoon tea with some tennis. You went to Wimbledon to be seen.

Over a century later, the annual championships at Wimbledon have become one the world’s great sporting events, attracting half a million fans each year according to Wimbledon figures. And, more incredibly, the English garden party atmosphere lives on in the famous tradition of strawberries and cream that were eaten at the first Wimbledon and still served today—142,000 portions in 2015 according to the AELTC. It also lives on the manners and etiquette, which were all-important to Victorian society, upheld by the AELTC in its Conditions of Entry: “the use of any annoying or dangerous behavior, foul or abusive language or obscene gestures… may result in ejection from the Grounds.”

Perhaps the most renowned and distinctive tradition of all is the “almost entirely white” clothing rule that is “unlikely to change” according to AELTC Vice-President, John Barrett MBE, a former player, tennis historian and the BBC’s “Voice of Tennis” from 1971 until 2006.

“White clothing against the green of the grass simply looks right,” Barrett writes in The Official History.

It’s a rule that demonstrates the respect Wimbledon commands of its subjects. When American player Andre Agassi returned to Wimbledon in 1991, after a four-year boycott, “there were hushed tones as [he] stripped off his track suit to reveal a pristine, all-white kit,” CNN reporter Paul Gittings writes in a 2010 article.

“Wimbledon is a place where I learnt to wear white, where I learnt to bow, Agassi told CNN. “It’s a place where I learnt to accept and come to appreciate [the tradition].”

The traditional etiquette of players’ bowing or curtseying to royalty was dropped in 2003—except when the Queen or the Prince of Wales are in attendance—but royalty are frequently in attendance at Wimbledon and have been since 1907, according to the AELTC. The then Prince of Wales (and future King George V) accepted an offer to become President of the Club after watching a day’s play, and later became Patron after he ascended to the throne. Every monarch since has continued this patronage.

The royal box, on the south side of Centre Court, also entertains celebrities from all walks of life, at the invitation of the Chairman, Philip Brook, giving spectators a glimpse of popular figures on most, if not every day of the tournament.

But while Wimbledon’s exclusive charm may get fans through the door, large crowds alone will not guarantee a title’s prestige over other tournaments. The Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open offers far greater exposure for players with capacity for 22,547 fans. Wimbledon’s Centre Court holds only 15,000.

Nor does the number of world ranking points available. As one of four Grand Slam tournaments, Wimbledon awards its champion the maximum 2,000 points[1], but no more than the U.S. Open, the French Open, or the Australian Open.

Not even the singles title prize money puts Wimbledon ahead. At $3.3 million, the U.S. Open is $300,000 more lucrative than Wimbledon, which offers just under $3 million (£1.8 million), according to their published figures in 2015.

It could have to do with skill. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam still played on grass, meaning that simply by rarity its title could warrant distinction. But the grass courts remain at the AELTC “because they offer the sternest test of a player’s skill, reactions and concentration,” writes Barrett in The Official History.

“Grass is a notoriously difficult surface to play on,” agrees online magazine, TennisTalk: “The ball tends to travel quickly and it bounces relatively low. A powerful serve can be very difficult to return on this surface.”

With professional tennis mostly played on non-grass surfaces—according to the men’s ATP tour calendar, 37 tournaments are played on hard courts, 22 on clay and only 7 on grass—it would make sense for players to focus their efforts away from grass to secure their chances of winning world-ranking points and prize money, leaving lawn tennis and Wimbledon to pale into insignificance.

But that hasn’t happened. Whether it’s the lure of sparkling tennis whites, the lush green lawns, or the air of antiquity that lingers, enticing players to come and be part of history, Wimbledon reigns.

“They act like they’ve got the biggest tournament in the world,” Pete Sampras once said, a man who dominated tennis as the world No. 1 for six consecutive years from 1993 through to 1998, and whose famous words now stand 10 feet high in block lettering in the grounds of the AELTC:

“They do. This is the one.”

[1] Lower profile tournament titles on both the men’s ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) tour the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tour offer a sliding scale of points available, downwards from 1500.