The tournament, which takes place in late June and early July and is one of four annual 'Grand Slam'
tennis competitions the others being the Australian,
French, and the US Opens, is the only one still played on natural grass.
The first Wimbledon championship was contested in 1877 on one of the
All
England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club's croquet lawns since 1882 All
England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. In 1884, Wimbledon introduced a women's championship, and the national men's doubles tournament was relocated from Oxford. In
1913, mixed doubles and women's doubles were introduced.
In 1968, professional players were allowed to compete in the Wimbledon Championships, which were previously only open to amateurs;
Rod Laver of Australia and Billie Jean King of the United States
won the singles competitions that year.
In addition to men's and women's singles and doubles, mixed doubles, and
junior boys and girls' events, the current championships include junior boys and girls' events. The
Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum is a museum dedicated to the sport's history.
Suzanne Lenglen of France was the first woman to win three
Wimbledon singles and doubles titles in a single year in 1920, and
Don Budge of the United States was the first man to win three Wimbledon singles
and doubles titles in a single year in 1937. In 1938, he duplicated the feat and added the remaining three
Grand Slam titles to his collection.
