Wimbledon: The Official History of the Championships

The Wimbledon Championships began life in 1877 as little more than a Victorian summer pastime. Nowadays, for two weeks in June, the whole of the tennis world converges on SW19 for one of the defining moments of the British summer. In this book, endorsed by the All England Club, John Barrett chronicles the story of the development of the tournament, decade by decade, set against the backdrop of world events. He describes the great players who have appeared at the championships, discusses some of the controversies that have raged, such as the dramatic exit of Suzanne Lenglen in 1926 and the scandalous reaction to the lace panties of "Gorgeous" Gussie Moran in 1949, and some of the truly great moments, the duals between McEnroe and Borg and, more recently, Pete Sampras's seventh singles title. Within each decade are photographs and biographies of every men's and ladies' singles champion, complete with singles result from the 114-year history of the championships, contained in a statistics section. Containing more than 400 photographs, this book is a portrait of an occasion that has become as much an institution as an international sporting event.