Wimbledon!

Since I was a little girl, tennis has always been my favorite sport to play. From my very first pink Zebra racket to my titanium Prince, I have had a lot of history out on the courts. Therefore, in coming to London, it was very important to me to go see Wimbledon and its historical grass courts. On March 16, I made the long tube ride out to the stadium with my parents, since my dad is the main reason I love tennis in the first place. We unfortunately missed the last tour, but were able to visit the Tennis museum. As it turned out, this museum was my favorite of all that I’ve been to (and I’ve been to a lot in the past four months!). I learned so much about the sport at Wimbledon, especially in regards to it’s predominance in Europe in the past century.
One of the most important developments in tennis was the creation of the Wimbledon tennis championship. This event actually started in the late 1800’s, but became popular into the 20th century. Wimbledon became and international tournament in 1905 when US player May Sutton entered the tournament. After the 1st World War, the stadium was moved to Church Court Road, and opened by King George V. The games were aired over the radio in 1937, which allowed audiences worldwide to watch the event. The Second World War affected the game like everything else. The games were cancelled from 1939 to 1946, but reopened after the war to a progressive new game. Along with the rest of the world, tennis rode the post war wave. The game turned into a sophisticated middle class activity.
Throughout the fifties, Americans dominated the sport. Famous players such as Ted Schroeder, Tony Trabert, Louise Brough, and Maureen Connolly made their marks at Wimbledon. Over the past 30 years, there have been several exciting players at the Championship. Bjorn Borg became the first player in a century to win five consecutive titles. Boris Becker in 1985 became the youngest, first German, and first unseeded player to win the men’s single. The great Pete Sampras got a record of seven titles, the last in 2000. Since then Roger Federer has tied with Borg with five consecutive wins. During this time John McEnroe added excitement and popularity to the game with his famous temper tantrums and bad mouth.
Now, more 60 countries participate in the Wimbledon Championship. The sport has grown to have an enormous fan base, especially here in Europe. Two of the greatest players in the world right now are from European countries, Swiss player Roger Federer and Spanish player Rafael Nadal. The abundance of international champions in this game is one of the reasons I love it so much. All around the world, and especially here in the UK, tennis is a part of culture.