One of the world’s most famous sporting events takes place each year in the London suburb of Wimbledon. Wimbledon is one of the oldest and most prestigious tennis events in the history of the game and is the oldest of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Beginning in late July the tournament takes place over a fourteen day period. The tournament is held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The courts are arranged to circle the centre court which is why it is called “Centre Court”.  New courts were added in later years and Court 1 is now also one of the primary courts.
Though the British take great pride in the event, it is also a source of frustration as there has not been a Brit to win since Virginia Wade in 1977 or Fred Perry in 1936. Wimbledon will draw 256 players for the main event individual men and women’s competition and 176 pairs for the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles. There are Junior and Invitational events taking place at the same time.

Both major courts; Centre Court and Court 1 are only usually only used during the Wimbledon tournament and only for the championships. The remaining seventeen courts are used on a regular basis for other tennis events. This will all change in 2012 when the club will host the tennis matches for the 2012 Olympics.