The Championships at Wimbledon started
in 1877 and the inaugural tournament
was a far cry from today's two-week
celebration of tennis.
The competition was set up in an effort
to raise money for the repair of a roller
and comprised of 22 entrants in the
men's singles.
It was the first organised tennis tournament
in the world and the 27-year-old W Spencer
Gore finished as champion - receiving
12 guineas for his efforts.
The success of the tournament
- bar the rain on the day of the final
- ensured that it returned 12 months later
and was going to become a constant on
the sporting calender.
Since 1877, the Championships,
as they are fomallly known, have only
ever been disrupted by the World Wars,
four years being lost during the First
and six during the Second.
For the first 30 years
Britons dominated proceedings, with the
likes of Ernest and William Renshaw and
Laurie and Reggie Doherty to the fore.
The Renshaws created such
an interest in the game that the 1880s
were dubbed the 'Renshaw Rush' as people
took to the sport.
