Wimbledon: The Official History

Wimbledon: The Official History

It was to raise funds for the repair of a broken pony roller, so essential for the upkeep of the lawns at their ground in Nursery Lane, Wimbledon, that the All England Croquet Club first decided to hold a tennis tournament.<br /><br />From those humble beginnings in 1877 The Championships at Wimbledon have grown to become one of the world's great international sporting occasions.<br /><br />In this lavishly illustrated and updated and revised fourth edition of the definitive Wimbledon history John Barrett has traced the process by which a small private tennis club in rural Surrey has become a multi-million pound business that is the main source of finance for British tennis.<br /><br />It is a romantic story that reflects the ages, decade by decade, from the chivalrous Victorian days when the whalebone stays the ladies wore beneath their ankle-length dresses often drew blood and the gentlemen played in striped shirts, cricket caps and long stockings, to today's white-clad gladiators in functional attire befitting super-fit international athletes of the 21st century.<br /><br />Within these pages you will find all the game's heroes and heroines<br /><br />captured in action and in vivid detail through the lenses of the world's<br /><br />leading sports photographers.<br /><br />NEW EDITION - INCLUDES<br /><br />ANDY MURRAY'S WIN IN 2013