The prestigious Wimbledon Championships are the highlight of the summer sporting calendar. The Grand Slam tennis tournament, which takes place in the district of Wimbledon in south-west London in the first fortnight of July, is famous for world-class tennis, unpredictable English weather and the consumption of countless strawberries. The club where the Championships are held is now the most famous tennis club in the world, but when six men founded it one hundred and fifty years ago it wasn’t even dedicated to tennis!
ANYONE FOR CROQUET?
The club was founded in 1868 as a croquet club. Croquet is a placid sport that involves hitting wooden balls with a mallet through a series of hoops. While popular as a social pastime in mid-19th century England, croquet never took off as a spectator sport. Tennis, however, seemed much more exciting and when the first official tournament was played at the club in 1877 it proved so successful that ‘croquet’ was dropped from the club title altogether and it became The All England Tennis Club.
A WINNING TRADITION
Although croquet returned to the official club name years later, the general public still know the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as simply Wimbledon. Every July almost half a million spectators attend the tournament and a billion more tune in around the world. With its strict white dress code and eighteen immaculate grass courts, the Wimbledon Championships value tradition and hold a magic for spectators and players alike that the other Grand Slam competitions just can’t beat.
FROM MALLET TO RACKET
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon celebrates its a 150th anniversary this year. While famous for hosting the world-renowned tennis tournament, the club was actually set up for enthusiasts of a lesser-known sport: croquet. Anna Spender is a curator at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Museum. When she met with Speak Up she talked about the club’s non-tennis origins, the theme of a special exhibition at the museum.
Anna Spender (English accent): The croquet craze started in England in the 1860s. It was a sport that had originated in France from several other sports such as palle malle and trucco and it reached this country in the mid-19th century and was really popularised. So back in the 19th century, croquet was really played by the elite in society, the middle and upper classes who had free time where they could enjoy hobbies and sports. It was one of the first sports that men and ladies could play on an equal level. And in fact the membership fees here at the club were exactly the same for men and ladies, which was quite unusual in the Victorian era.
AN UNFAIR DISADVANTAGE
Yet while women could play croquet, they had to do so in restrictive clothing, says Spender.
Anna Spender: In the Victorian era, women would be wearing quite different clothing to what we would think of today. They would be wearing their long dresses. Long-sleeved, high-necked, very modest. And they would’ve also worn corsets underneath those and petticoats so it would’ve been quite difficult to move in let alone play croquet.
NET WORTH
And tennis was first introduced as a means to generate some cash, explains Spender.
Anna Spender: So the game of croquet has never really been a spectator sport. It was something that you would participate in. The croquet lawns are extremely large and it was quite difficult to follow the game around the court. Tennis came to Wimbledon first in 1875, so seven years after the club was founded. And it was really a way to get the spectators in to buy their tickets to watch the famous tennis stars in action. When tennis came along in the 1870s it was really used as a way to generate an income for the club.
ICONICALLY WIMBLEDON
Wimbledon is proud of its heritage, says Spender, and the club still honours its traditions.
Anna Spender: The iconic thing[s] about Wimbledon are things like the white clothing, the grass courts... Tradition and heritage are embedded in our values and behaviours here at the club and it’s something that we really hold dear. So [it] really makes us feel proud of our heritage. It’s something quite different to some of the other sports tournaments around the world.
THE ENGLISH RAIN
Nevertheless, she explains, the club has never ceased investing in its future.
Anna Spender: I think the traditional aspect will remain the same. It’s something that’s very important to Wimbledon but we do recognise that we have to change with the times, we do have to modernise and keep ahead of the game. So, for example we’re having the roof constructed on number one court so tennis matches can be played at night time and during the bad weather. So every year, we’re constantly evolving and I think that can be seen, you know, throughout the club’s history.