#Wimbledon | Keeping up with traditions

It's not just the quality of tennis on display, the prize money, the aesthetic style, and the worldwide media coverage that make Wimbledon one of the most prestigious tournaments.

Wimbledon is more than just a tennis competition. It represents a rich cultural heritage that has been forming for over 145 years of history and that still distinguishes it from other Grand Slams. Wimbledon’s image is well-known to any tennis fan: fresh green lawns, all-white tennis clothes, and red juicy strawberries.

It follows long-standing traditions and today let us have a look at them. Here we go, Top 3 most amusing Wimbledon traditions.

Tennis courts

Yeah, exactly, tennis courts. Usually 4 playing surfaces are used for tennis, one of them is a grass court for “lawn tennis”.

Back in 1868, the All England Club was established on four acres of meadow land outside London to promote croquet. But the growing popularity of tennis led it to incorporate tennis lawns into its facilities.

In 1877, Wimbledon tournament was founded, though it welcomed only amateurs that is totally unimaginable nowadays.

About 30 years later, Wimbledon had graduated from all-England to all-world status, and in 1922 the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, as it was then known, moved to a large stadium on Church Road where it is still situated.

Wimbledon accommodates 18 Championships grass courts and 20 grass practice courts that are diligently taken care of.

Dress code

Everyone has been watching Wimbledon and questioned themselves “Why are all players dressed in white”? Well, the short answer is “because it’s in the dress code.”

In1880s, sweat stains were considered so improper that it was decided that white should be worn to minimize their visibility, as sweat is more apparent on colorful clothing. From that period on, “tennis whites” were considered the standard attire for all tennis players, male and women, at Wimbledon.

Fun fact: even some top-players were at least once fined for not following the dress code. Let’s take the example of Roger Federer who was penalized for having worn orange-soled white shoes in 2013. Even soles of the shoes should be white. Crazy!

Strawberries and Cream

Every year Wimbledon needs the largest catering operation in Europe. Do you wonder why? Right, because they serve over 190,900 portions of the desert, strawberries and cream during the whole tournament.

Strawberries and cream were served at the first ever edition of Wimbledon in 1877, when there were only 200 fans present. Since then, the traditional classic dish was at a premium.

The strawberries are picked in Kent at dawn before being delivered to the grounds in south London. And if you wonder about the price of this joy, it is about £2.50.

Game, Set and Match for today!

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