The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, located in Wimbledon, a south-west region of London, is hosting the Olympic Tennis Event for London 2012.
London has staged the Olympics on two previous occasions, in 1908 and 1948, but this will be the first time that the current Church Road site of The All England Club is being used as the venue for tennis.
The Queen's Club played host to an indoor event in 1908, and then The All England Club's former home, also located in Wimbledon on Worple Road, held an outdoor event in July after The Championships. In 1948, tennis was no longer an Olympic sport.
Wimbledon is widely regarded as the home of tennis, having held the world's first ever Lawn Tennis Championships in 1877. Since then, this annual tournament has continued to grow in stature and is now the most prestigious of the sport's four Grand Slams.
Each year, The All England Club welcomes the world's best players to compete on the hallowed grass courts and battle for the crown of Wimbledon champion. Players such as Fred Perry, Billie Jean King, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Pete Sampras, Steffi Graf, Roger Federer and the Williams sisters have all delighted the Wimbledon crowds.
The historic venue is based around Centre Court, which was built in 1922 when the club moved to its current location. The atmospheric arena recently underwent a major renovation that was unveiled in 2009, when the capacity was increased to 15,000 and a retractable roof was opened (or closed, as the case may be!) for the first time.
The All England Club's second largest stadium is No.1 Court, which seats 11,500 spectators. There are 19 match courts in total and a further 16 practice courts, while there are also outdoor clay and indoor hard facilities. During the Olympic Tennis Event, 12 match courts and seven practice courts will be in operation.