I know I'm super subtle on my titles but...
Yesterday we went to Wimbledon!
It was seriously one of my favorite things we've done!
We got there and decided it would be worth it to do the tour. I'm so glad we did because we got to see way more than we would have if we had just gone on our own and we got to hear way fun facts.
Here were some of my favorites:
-Wimbledon started in 1868. It was the first major tennis tournament to be played.
-Richard Norris Williams won doubles at Wimbledon in 1920. He had been on the Titanic when it sunk and his dad was killed. The doctors wanted to cut his legs off after because he had been in the water for what they thought was too long. He didn't allow it, and eventually worked up his strength enough to win Wimbledon and a gold medal in the olympics in 1924.
-Sunlamps go up and down the courts all winter to keep the grass perfect. The grass there is basically sacred... I'm not sure what they would do if you stepped on it, but I wasn't willing to find out.
-There are 11,393 seats on court 1.
-There are 15,000 seats on centre court.
-The daily capacity at Wimbledon is 38,500.
-Court 18 was where the longest match in history was every played. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut were the competitors. It went for 11 hours and 5 minutes and took three days to finish in June 2010 (yes I remember watching some of it!). Isner won 70-68 in a tiebreaker in the fifth set. This court is also Andy Roddick's favorite court to play on.
-Court 3, which was formerly court 2 (they all get switched around except for centre court) is known as the graveyard of champions. Many of the big names and the number one tennis players in the world, including Sampras and Federer, lost to small names on this court.
-The fastest women's serve was set at Wimbledon at 129 mph. Venus Williams set it.
-Centre court is the only court that has a roof on it. The roof took 20,000 pounds and 5 years to build. It takes ten minutes to close and then pulls out the wet air and blows back dry.
-Over 16 million pounds in prize money is awarded at Wimbledon. If you win, you get a million and a half pounds. If you refuse to be interviewed after any match, you will be charged 3000 dollars for refusal. No one has ever refused at Wimbledon.
court 1
court 18 and the plaque for the longest match ever played
where they hold all the interviews after the matches
centre court!
sharapova, both williams sisters, nadal, and djokovic's signed uniforms!
oh! and a very happy halloween to everyone!
check back to hear how we celebrate in London!
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