Wimbledon or, to use its correct term, simply The Championships - is the oldest and by common consensus the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.

With its strawberries and cream, its rigid all-white clothing rule and its frequent rain delays, the All England Club prides itself on traditions dating back to the first tournament in 1877.

Another unwanted tradition is the failure of a British man to win the men's singles title since Fred Perry in 1936, although Virginia Wade won the women's crown in 1977 fittingly its centenary year.

For all its apparent unwillingness to embrace change, the All England Club has made some major decisions in recent years, such as finally introducing equal pay for men's and women's players in 2007.

From 2009 the prospect of the tournament dragging on to a third Monday will be greatly diminished by the new retractable roof, which could be used for the first time over Centre Court.
2009 also heralded the opening of the new 4,000-capacity Number Two Court, with the old Number Two Court commonly known as the 'Graveyard of Champions' for its history of producing upsets renamed Number Three.

Pete Sampras is the most successful Wimbledon champion in the Open era, with seven titles, with Roger Federer standing one short of that figure after losing in an epic 2008 final to Rafael Nadal.

The most successful modern women's player is Martina Navratilova, who won nine singles titles and 20 Wimbledon titles in total, matching the pre-Open and post-Open era record of Billie Jean King.