TENNIS TIME


Wimbledon was first played in London in 1877 and is the oldest tennis championship in the world. For two weeks in June, England goes crazy for tennis... it's tennis time!

A big event 

Wimbledon is England's biggest tennis championship. Half a millon people come to London to watch it every year. More than 650 matches are played, and some people queue all night to get tickets. If you don't want to wait, you can also watch the tournament on TV. 17 million British people saw the 2012 final on TV.


Centre court roof

It is no secret that it rains a lot in England. Before, when it rained at Wimbledon, all matches had to stop. So in 2009 the organisers added a retractable roof over the centre court. Now matches can continue in all types of weather.
 roof= coberta
court= pista

Boys vs girls

"Ball boys" were introduced at Wimbledon in 1920 to collect the tennis balls. "Balls girls" had to wait until 1977!

The shoes

Tennis shoes are flexible so players can move easily. They have lots of padding to help stop injuries... even on grass!

White only

Wimbledon has lots of traditions. One of them is that all players must wear white clothes or they can be disqualified.

The racket

In the past, tennis rackets were wooden with strings made of animal intestine. Today, rackets are graphite with nylon strings. They can hit the ball at 250 km/h!

Andy Murray

British tennis player Andy Murray is the Number 3 tennis player in the world. He has won lots of tournaments including the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. His biggest success was when he won the 2012 US Open. He became the first British man to win a Grand Slam since 1936.

A popular player

Murray is Britain's favourite tennis player... there is an area in the Wimbledon club called "Murray Mount" in his honour.