Tennis Book 2010_Layout 1 - TIA UK

History
Remembering the creator of a unique event
Wimbledon is taken for granted by the millions who follow
tennis. It also applies to those who don’t follow the sport for the
name is synonymous with the game. In fact, it is the game in
many people’s eyes!
Delving into the history of Wimbledon, or The Championships
to use its official title, one discovers that the first ball was struck
on Monday 9th July 1877 on what was a sunny day, writes
Henry Wancke.
The venue was the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club
situated on Worple Road, Wimbledon, by the side of the London
and South Western Railway, the original site of what we now
basically know as the AELTC or All England Club based in
Church Road whence they moved to in 1922.
The Championships have been played ever since except for the
war years of 1915-18 and 1940-45 but who actually came up
with the idea of establishing the event which has become the
bye-word of the sport?
The man behind the 1877 staging of the inaugural tournament
was Henry Jones, a doctor who under the pen name of
‘Cavendish’ had become an authority on all ‘games’ of the time.
But there was more to it than just organizing an event. These
days we have all sorts of templates which can be followed and
plenty of organizations who can provide assistance.
Back then Dr Jones was working with a blank sheet of paper, no
rules, no scoring system, no standard balls and no standard
court. As far as the populace was concerned, tennis was just a
Victorian pastime which went under the name of “Sphairistike”
and played simply on their lawns. In fact a novelty game
introduced by Major Wingfield to the public at large three years
earlier and taken up by the Club in 1875.
So, once the idea of a tournament was established, many
aspects taken for granted nowadays, had to be agreed and Dr
Jones was the man who decided and his decisions have shaped
the sport to this day..
The main difference between today’s game and those of Dr
Jones’ time can be seen in the size and shape of the net. In 1877
the net was five feet high at the posts and three feet three inches
in the middle, later modified to 3 feet 6 inches and 3 feet. The
service line was also five foot further from the net and while an
hour-glass court shape was used on the Victorian lawns, Dr
Jones squared it off and settled on a length of 26 yards long and
9 yards wide for the tournament, a decision which has remained
constant to this day.
His biggest decision was to introduce the scoring system which
again has not been changed since then. The only addition being
the tie-break which was first introduced in the USA in 1970 and
adopted by Wimbledon the following year.
Considering the game was only a few years old it wasn’t
surprising that rackets scoring was favoured by most of the
players with only the server scoring and the first to 15 being the
winner.
However Dr Jones went against the general trend and opted to
adopt the scoring system as used by the ancient game of tennis
44
rather than rackets which is why we are now accustomed to the
15-love etc., one of the much loved idiosyncrasies of the game!
Then he had to decide how to run the tournament and so
introduced the knock-out draw by following the practice of other
games of the time, especially croquet which had been an
integral part of the Club since its foundation in 1868.
For the record, a field of 22 Gentlemen competed in that first
Championships from which Spencer William Gore emerged
victorious defeating William Marshall easily. While the knockout
draw is still played today, in those days it was customary for a
Challenge Round to be the Final. This was played for the first
time the following year allowing the reigning champion to wait
for a challenger to emerge from the All-Comers draw. This
practice was dropped in 1922 when the Club moved to its
current site.
That first tournament, despite its novelty, was deemed a success
attracting around 200 spectators, each paying one shilling, to
watch the final! A far cry from what we now know as Wimbledon
and while I am sure Dr Henry Jones never visualized his
tournament would grow and become such a huge international
event, we can but thank him for sowing the seeds for the
greatest tennis event in the world.
At the time he created a unique event and it remains that to this
day.
The SILVER TENNIS COLLECTION
specialises in fine tennis jewellery
and tennis giftware.
English crystal with a tennis theme and
their new, unique, tennis rugs form part
of their Home Decor range, along with
fine art and memorabilia.
The company also specialises in supplying club
Prizes and Trophies with a full engraving service.
Please contact Robert Fuller or visit
www.silvertenniscollection.com