All About - Wimbledon Championships

All About The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, The Wimbledon Championships, or simply Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and widely considered the most prestigious It has been held at the All England Club in London since 1877 It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments (Majors), the others being the Australian Open, the French Open (Roland Garros) and the US Open Since the Australian Open shifted to hard court in 1988, Wimbledon is the only Major still played on grass, the game's original surface, which gave the game its original name of "lawn tennis". The tournament takes place over two weeks in late June and early July, culminating with the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Singles Final, scheduled for the second Saturday and Sunday respectively Each year five major, junior, and invitational events are held. The hard court (Plexicushion) Australian Open and clay court French Open precede Wimbledon in the year, and the hard court (DecoTurf) US Open follows For men, the grass court Queen's Club Championships, in London, England, and the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, serve as warm-up events; for women, the Aegon Classic in Birmingham and two joint events, the Topshelf Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands and the Eastbourne International. Wimbledon traditions include a strict dress code for competitors, the eating of strawberries and cream by the spectators, and Royal patronage The tournament is also notable for the absence of sponsor advertising around the courts In 2009, Wimbledon's Centre Court was fitted with a retractable roof to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain.