The world-renowned British tennis tournament, Wimbledon, has become more than tradition, according to British journalist and author John Barrett: more than "just the world's most important and historic tennis tournament," having come to symbolize "all that is best about sport, royal patronage, and social occasion that the British do so well, a subtle blend that the rest of the world finds irresistible." Held in late June and early July, Wimbledon is the only one of four Grand Slam tennis events still played on natural grass.

The event started in 1877 as an amateur tournament called the Lawn Tennis Championships hosted at the England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (later renamed the All England Lawn Tennis Club). The only event was men's singles. Twenty-two players participated, and Spencer Gore won the final match, which spectators paid one shilling to watch. The women's singles event was instituted in 1884. Maud Watson claimed...