It’s that time of year again, players have flown in from all over the world to compete in the prestigious Wimbledon tournament.
The first Wimbledon championship was held in 1877 on one of the croquet lawns of what was then named The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. The club became synonymous with tennis and in 1881 was renamed The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Seven years after the first tournament was held a women's championship was introduced and in the same year the national men's doubles was transferred to Wimbledon from Oxford.
Wimbledon is something that we all have in common, it has been around for longer than all of us and has been a part of the British summer throughout all of our lives.
The Wimbledon Fortnight is the highlight of the sporting calendar for tennis fans, and we certainly have some avid tennis fans amongst us here at Canterbury House. Canterbury House opened its doors in July 2021, and this is therefore the first Wimbledon tournament that we will be enjoying together.
As with everything that happens here, the team have gone overboard in their efforts to make Wimbledon Fortnight the very best that it can be. The home has been decorated and we have been provided with the obligatory strawberries and cream as well as themed cupcakes and Pimm’s.
We have had some interesting conversations about the history of the game and learned some fun facts about Wimbledon itself. For example, did you know that tennis is a British invention? The game was invented by Walter Clopton Wingfield and was originally called “Sphairistikè” – an ancient Greek word meaning “the art of playing ball.”
We are having a wonderful fortnight and are looking forward to the finals next week, finals that we will watch whilst eating strawberries, drinking Pimm’s and enjoying the company of like-minded tennis fans.