Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly known simply as Wimbledon or The Championships, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious.[2][3][4][5][6] It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts, with a retractable roof over two courts since 2019.

Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. Wimbledon is the only major still played on grass, which is the traditional tennis playing surface.

The tournament traditionally took place over two weeks in late June and early July, starting on the last Monday in June and culminating with the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Singles Finals, scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday at the end of the second week. However, changes to the tennis calendar in 2015 have seen the event moved back by a week to begin in early July.[7][8] Five major events are held each year, with additional junior and invitational competitions also taking place.

Wimbledon traditions include a strict all-white dress code for competitors, and royal patronage. Strawberries and cream are traditionally consumed at the tournament.[9] The tournament allows advertising around the courts only by the official sponsors, which are Rolex, which provides timekeeping technology during matches, IBM, Oppo, Slazenger, and Robinsons barley water.

In 2009, Wimbledon's Centre Court was fitted with a retractable roof to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain. A roof was operational over No. 1 Court from 2019, when a number of other improvements were made, including adding cushioned seating, a table and 10 independently operable cameras per court to capture the games.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Championships were cancelled, the first cancellation of the tournament since World War II.[10] The 134th edition was staged from 28 June 2021 to 11 July 2021, following from the 2020 cancellation. The 135th edition is scheduled to take place between 27 June 2022 and 10 July 2022, with Sunday expected to be staged for the first time.