Wimbledon Championships
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...
, is an annual
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
tournament first contested in
1877 and played on
outdoor grass courts at the
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London, England, is a Gentlemen's club, private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon ...
(AELTC) in the
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
suburb of London, United Kingdom.
The ladies' singles was started in
1884
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London.
* January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London.
* January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...
.
History
Wimbledon has historically been played in the last week of June and the first week of July (though changed to the first two weeks of July in 2017), and has been chronologically the third of the four
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
tournaments of the tennis
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
since 1987.
[ The event was not held from 1915 to 1918 because of ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and again from 1940 to 1945 because of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The tournament was also not contested in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
The ladies' singles' rules have undergone several changes since the first edition. From 1886 until 1921
Events
January
* January 2
** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil.
** The Spanish lin ...
, the event started with a knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
phase, the all comers' singles, whose winner then faced the defending champion in a challenge round
Challenge may refer to:
* Voter challenging or caging, a method of challenging the registration status of voters
* Euphemism for disability
* Peremptory challenge, a dismissal of potential jurors from jury duty
Places
Geography
*Challenge, C ...
. The all comers' winner was automatically awarded the title eleven times (1889
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada.
** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...
, 1890
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa.
** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River.
* January 2
** The steamship ...
, 1891, 1894, 1895, 1898
Events
January–March
* January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...
, 1903, 1908, 1909
Events
January–February
* January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
* January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
* Januar ...
, 1912
Events January
* January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established.
* January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens.
* January 6 ...
, 1913
Events January
* January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...
) in the absence of the previous year's champion. The challenge round system was abolished with the 1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
edition. Since the first championships, all matches have been played at the best-of-three sets. Between 1877 and 1883
Events
January–March
* January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States.
* January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people.
* Ja ...
, the winner of the next game at five games -all took the set in every match except the all comers' final, and the challenge round, which were won with six games and a two games advantage. All sets were decided in two-game advantage format from 1884
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London.
* January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London.
* January 18 – Dr. William Price atte ...
to 1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
.[ The lingering death best-of-12 points ]tie-break
In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests.
General operation
In matches
In some situations, the tiebreaker may cons ...
was introduced in 1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
for the first two sets, played at eight games-all until 1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
and at six games-all since 1979.
The ladies' singles champion receives a sterling silver salver commonly known as the "Venus Rosewater Dish
The Venus Rosewater Dish is the Ladies' Singles Trophy awarded at The Championships, Wimbledon, and was first presented to the Champion in 1886.
A Rosewater dish is a ceremonial platter or basin used after eating to catch rosewater poured fro ...
", or simply the "Rosewater Dish". The salver, which is 18.75 inches (about 48 cm) in diameter, is decorated with figures from mythology. New singles champions are traditionally elected honorary members of the AELTC by the club's committee. In 2012, the ladies' singles winner received prize money
Prize money refers in particular to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare, but also in other circumstances. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law of a belligerent state to the crew of a ship belonging to t ...
of £1,150,000.
In the Amateur–challenge round era, Dorothea Lambert Chambers
Dorothea Lambert Chambers (née Dorothea Katherine Douglass, 3 September 1878 – 7 January 1960) was a British tennis player. She won seven The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon women's singles titles and a gold medal at the Tennis at the 190 ...
(1903–1904, 1906, 1910–1911, 1913–1914) holds the record for most titles, with seven. However, it's noteworthy that three of Chambers' titles were won in the challenge round. Lottie Dod
Charlotte Dod (24 September 1871 – 27 June 1960) was an English multi-sport athlete, best known as a tennis player. She won the Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Championship five times, the first one when she was only 15 in the summer of 1887. She ...
(1891–1893) and Suzanne Lenglen
Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (; 24 May 1899 – 4 July 1938) was a French tennis player. She was the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926, winning eight Grand Slam titles in singles and twenty-one in total. She was also a four-time World ...
(1919–1921) hold the record for most consecutive wins in the ladies' singles with three victories each. The record for most wins and most consecutive wins post-challenge round in the Amateur Era, belongs to Helen Wills Moody
Helen Newington Wills (October 6, 1905 – January 1, 1998), also known by her married names Helen Wills Moody and Helen Wills Roark, was an American tennis player. She won 31 Grand Slam tournament titles (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) d ...
(1927–1930, 1932–1933, 1935, 1938) with eight, including four straight victories (1927–1930).[
In the Open Era, since the inclusion of the professional tennis players, ]Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...
(1978–1979, 1982–1987, 1990) holds the record for most victories with nine. Navratilova holds the record for most consecutive victories with six (1982–1987).[
This event has been won without the loss of a set during the Open Era, by the following players: ]Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...
in 1968, 1972, 1973 and 1975, Margaret Court
Margaret Court (''née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired former world No. 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 maj ...
in 1970, Evonne Goolagong Cawley
Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley (née Goolagong; born 31 July 1951) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. Goolagong was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s.
At the age of 19, she won the French Open singl ...
in 1971 and 1980, Chris Evert
Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Evert won 18 major singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record ...
in 1974 and 1981, Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...
in 1979, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1990, Steffi Graf
Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 for a record 377 weeks and won 22 major singles titles, ...
in 1992 and 1996, Jana Novotná
Jana Novotná (; 2 October 1968 – 19 November 2017) was a Czech professional tennis player. She played a serve and volley game, an increasingly rare style of play among women during her career. Novotná won the women's singles title at Wimbled ...
in 1998, Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach (born June 8, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. Davenport was ranked singles world No. 1 for a total of 98 weeks, and was the year-end singles world No. 1 four times (1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005) ...
in 1999, Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...
in 2000, 2007 and 2008, Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
in 2002, 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2016, Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová, OLY ( , ; born 8 March 1990) is a Czech professional tennis player. Known for her powerful left-handed groundstrokes and variety, Kvitová has won 29 career singles titles, including two major titles at Wimbledon in 2011 and i ...
in 2011 and 2014 and Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli (; born 2 October 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. Bartoli won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships singles title after previously being runner-up in 2007, and was a semifinalist at the 2011 French Open. She als ...
in 2013.
Champions
Amateur Era
Open Era
Statistics
Multiple champions
Championships by country
See also
Wimbledon Open other competitions
*List of Wimbledon gentlemen's singles champions
Wimbledon Championships is an annual British tennis tournament created in 1877 and played on outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) in the Wimbledon suburb of London, United Kingdom. The Gentlemen's Singles w ...
*List of Wimbledon gentlemen's doubles champions
The champions and runners-up of the Wimbledon Championships Gentlemen's Doubles tournament, first introduced to the championship in 1884 Wimbledon Championships, 1884. From 1915 to 1918, and from 1940 to 1945, no competition was held due to the tw ...
*List of Wimbledon ladies' doubles champions
The champions and runners-up of the Wimbledon Championships Ladies' Doubles tournament, first introduced to the championship in 1913. From 1915 to 1918, and from 1940 to 1945, no competition was held due to the two World Wars.
Finalists Amateur E ...
*List of Wimbledon mixed doubles champions
This is a list of the champions and runners-up of the Wimbledon Championships Mixed Doubles tournament, first introduced to the championship in 1913. From 1915 to 1918, and from 1940 to 1945, no competition was held due to the two World Wars.
Fro ...
Grand Slam women's singles
*List of Australian Open women's singles champions
The Australian Open is an annual tennis tournament created in 1905 and played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia.
The women's singles was first contested in 1922 along with the women's and mixed doubles competition ...
*List of French Open women's singles champions
The French Open, known originally as the Internationaux de France, is an annual tennis tournament created in 1891 and played on outdoor red clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The women's singles event began in 1897.
History
...
*List of US Open women's singles champions
The US Open women's singles championship is an annual tennis event that is being held since 1887 as part of the US Open tournament. The tournament is played on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing M ...
*List of Grand Slam women's singles champions
This article details the list of women's singles Grand Slam tournaments tennis champions. Some major changes have taken place in history and have affected the number of titles that have been won by various players. These have included the openi ...
Notes
References
;General
*
*
;Specific
External links
The Championships, Wimbledon official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Champions
Ladies
The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...
Wimbledon Singles champions
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...