Celebrating Wimbledon 2010 with Fun Facts and Trivia

Less than 24 hours to the start of Wimbledon, this year's grass tournament at the All England Lawn Tennis Club should prove yet again how exciting tennis can be. Rafael Nadal will be making a return after missing Wimbledon last year due to injury. Many are looking for a Nadal-Roger Federer final but don't discount many of the other top men's players. Andy Roddick proved last year that he has what is needed to win at Wimbledon, falling short to Federer in the championship game, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14. Look for Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Robin Soderling and even Lleyton Hewitt to make an impact. On the women's side, sisters Venus and Serena Williams are again expected to dominate the brackets. But Maria Sharapova is starting to make her way back up the ranks and could surprise all by taking the Wimbledon title this year. Wimbledon 2010 will not disappoint fans by providing some thrilling tennis matches. To celebrating this year's tennis tournament at the All England Club, here are some fun facts and trivia about the event.

Fun Facts and Trivia about Wimbledon

In 1877, the first Gentlemen's Singles were played at Wimbledon. Spencer Gore won that year out of a field of 22 men. Approximately 200 spectators watched those first matches.

The Ladies' Singles made their debut in 1884 with 13 players competing for the title. Maud Watson was crowned the champion that year.

1973 saw many players boycott Wimbledon due to a controversy caused by the suspension of Nikki Pilic by the Yugoslavian Lawn Tennis Association. 81 players sat out the games that year. Winning titles in 1973 were Billie Jean King and Jan Kodes of Czechoslovakia.

The men's and women's Wimbledon 2010 title winners will take home £1,000,000 each as their prize. Nothing to sneeze at, the runner-ups still receive a hefty £500,000.

The youngest men's player to ever win the Wimbledon title was Boris Becker in 1985. He was 17 years old.

Pete Sampras has won seven Wimbledon titles. If Roger Federer wins this year, he will tie Pete's record.

Martina Navratilova has won nine Wimbledon titles.

There will be 128 players in each of the men's and women's draws vying for the Wimbledon championship title.

An unseeded player has never won the Ladies' Singles title at Wimbledon. Two unseeded men have won the Gentlemen's Singles title. They were Boris Becker (1985) and Goran Ivanisevic (2001). Ivanisevic was also the first wild card entry to win the title. There have been no wild card players to ever win the women's title.

Noise makers are prohibited at all Wimbledon events including vuvuzelas, rattles and klaxons. These noise makers are not even allowed on the grounds of the All England Club.

To get up-to-the-minute news (including stats, schedule of play, tournament photos, videos, and the latest scores) on Wimbledon, please visit their website here.

Sources:
www.wimbledon.org
www.tennis-x.com/tournaments/wimbledon.shtml