Aces – most (All time)

Men: 212 - Goran Ivanisevic (CRO)  2001

Ladies: 57 - Alexandra Stevenson (USA)  1999, Serena Williams (USA) 2008

Aces – most (2014)

Men: 164 - Milos Raonic (from six matches).

Ladies: 42 - Petra Kvitova (from seven matches).

Attendance (2014)

Total attendance for the 13 days of The Championships: 491,084

Ball Boys and Ball Girls

Around 250 from around 750 entries come through a rigorous training routine. 

Balls

54,250 used during The Championships period.  Stored at 68 deg F.  New balls after first seven games (to allow for warm-up), then after every 9 games. Subject to availability after use balls sold daily to LTA-affiliated clubs and to spectators in the grounds.  £2.50 per can of three.  Proceeds go to LTA's Wimbledon Balls for Schools Scheme.  Yellow balls used for first time in 1986.  At start of day 48 tins taken onto Centre and No.1 Courts and 24 on all outside courts.

Broadcast

BBC is the host broadcaster.  Agreement extended in 2011 to 2017 inc.

Global news access audience estimated at over 1bn people in 200 territories.

Broadcast figures 2014

• UK:
  
  Novak Djokovic’s victory over Roger Federer in the Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles final drew a peak audience of 10 million viewers. (BBC)
  The Ladies’ Singles Final drew a peak audience of 3.1m viewers. (BBC)
   
• US:
  
  ESPN’s broadcast of the Gentlemen’s Singles final drew an average of 1,894,000 homes and 2,456,000 viewers (P2+).
  
  On Digital platforms the strongest day of the tournament was Friday, July 5, logging 16 million live minutes viewed across computers, smartphones, tablets, Xbox and Apple TV.
  
  Usage of the WatchESPN app on smartphones and tablets throughout the entire tournament was up 274 percent – nearly quadruple – in live minutes viewed.  
   
• Australia: Channel Seven audience grew by 16% between 2014 and 2013. The Kyrgios QF attracted a viewing peak in Metropolitan and rural districts at just over 3.4m – the Gentlemen’s Singles final peaked at 2.5m and the total reach for The Championships was close to 7m.

Digital figures 2014

• Unique users  - 17.1m (19.6m in 2013, 16.9m in 2012)
• Visits - 63m (+17% on 2013)
• Page views - 473m (+9% on 2013)
• Geography split in order of most trafficked: UK, US, Australia, Canada.
• Mobile app downloads  (iPhone, Android and iPad) - 1.7m
• Live @ Wimbledon TV- 1.3m streams
• Live @ Wimbledon Radio - 6.3m streams
• Wimbledon-hosted Russian service - 3m streams
• YouTube - 8.9m views, 13.2m minutes watched during The Championships
• Social media audience (Facebook, Twitter, Google +) - 4.5m (3m in 2013)
• Bespoke social media feeds in Chinese (Tencent Weibo, Sina Weibo and WeChat), and geo-targeted content posted in Japanese on Facebook for the first time.
• Platform-specific social media activations: #WelcomeBackAndy, #QueueSelfie, Hill v World and the Social Hill, Facebook Q&As, Instatour of the Grounds, Instabooth on the Grounds, Google + #mywimbledon photo campaign, Twitter mirror in the Queue, Live @ Wimbledon on YouTube. 

Capacity (grounds)

39,000 spectators in the grounds at any one time. 

Catering

Wimbledon is the largest single annual sporting catering operation (1800 staff) carried out in Europe.  Average quantities supplied by Championships' caterers FMC.

• 350,000 cups of tea and coffee
• 150,000 bottles of water
  
• 207,000 meals served
• 230,000 glasses of Pimm's
• 190,000 sandwiches
• 150,000 bath buns, scones, pasties and doughnuts
• 130,000 lunches are served
• 100,000 pints of draught beer and lager
• 60,000 sausage baguettes
• 40,000 char-grilled meals served
• 32,000 portions of fish and chips
• 30,000 litres of milk
• 142,000 portions of English strawberries
• 28,000 bottles of champagne
• 15,000 bananas (for players)
• 60,000 portions of ice cream
• 12,000 kg of poached salmon and smoked salmon
• 7,000 litres of dairy cream
• 6,000 stone baked pizzas

Champion's Dinner

• Instigated in 1977 when the LTA Ball previously held on the final evening of The Championships was moved to the middle Saturday. 
• The tradition of dancing between the two Singles Champions ceased then.  In 2014, held at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. 

Clothing - players

Predominately in white rule introduced in 1963.  'Almost entirely in white rule' introduced in 1995.  Clothing submitted to Club for comment earlier in year.  Both Grand Slam and WTA rules stipulate recognised tennis attire.  Decision on the day as to whether clothing/players' turnout is suitable at discretion of Referee.  Guidelines: 

1. No solid mass  of colouring
2. Little or no dark or bold colours
3. No fluorescent colours
4. Preference towards pastel colours
5. Preference for back of shirt to be totally white
6. Preference for shorts and skirts to be totally white
7. All other items of clothing including hats, socks and shoes to be almost entirely white.

Centre Court

• 15,000 seats.  Finals matches scheduled to be played on Centre Court:
• Saturday 11 July 2015:  Ladies' Singles, Men's Doubles, Mixed Doubles
• Sunday 12 July 2015: Men's Singles, Ladies' Doubles.

Centre Court Roof stats

Courts grass (gen) 2015

41 in total.  19 Championships grass courts (Centre + Nos 1-19, less 13) plus 22 grass practice courts in Aorangi Park and at Southlands College.

No.1 Court

Capacity of 11,429.  Play scheduled to start at 1.00pm all days.

Courts (dimensions)

Centre Ct:  Stadium – 110m long x 119m wide x 19m high.  Area of grass - 41m x 22m.

No.1 Court: Stadium - 121m long x 121 wide x `18 m high.  Area of grass as Centre Ct.

All lines are 50mm wide, except base lines which are 100mm.

Court Covers

Centre:  New translucent cover in 1998.  Weighs 1 ton (wet & dry) and takes 16 people approx 30 seconds to cover the court.  Cover allows a greater amount of light to the grass.  Air ventilation under the cover is aided by four large fans (two at each end).

No.1:  New translucent cover in 1999.  Weight etc as Centre. No.2 Court takes 8 coverers, all other courts have 6 coverers.

Dates

2015: Monday 29 June – Sunday 12 July 

2016: Monday 27 June - Sunday 10 July

Draw

At Club on Friday 26 June 2015, 10.00am

Men's Singles: 128 places (inc 32 seeds, 16 qualifiers, 8 wild cards)

Ladies' Singles: 128 (inc 32 seeds, 12 qualifiers, 8 wild cards)

Men's, Ladies' Doubles - 64 pairs, Mixed Doubles – 48 pairs

Fastest Serve (2014)

Men: Jiri Vesely - 143 mph.

Ladies: Madison Keys - 123 mph.

Fastest Serve (All Time)

Men: 148mph - Taylor Dent – 2010

Women: 129mph - Venus Williams - 2008

Flowers

Over 50,000 plants supplied each year. 

Ivy on Centre Court is Boston Ivy, Parthenocissus Tricuspidaca Veitchii.

Grass

Championships playing height 8mm. Court grass composed of 100% rye grass (changed from 70% rye/30% red fescue in Sept 2000 for better wear and tear properties). 

Grounds (size)

Church Road site:  13.5 acres.  Plus car parks:  42 acres

Hawk

Rufus, a Harris Hawk, trained by Wayne Davis of Avian Control.  Visits the Club most weeks in the year to provide a deterrent to local pigeons by making aware of a predator in the grounds to persuade them to roost elsewhere.  Flies for one hour (9.00am) most mornings of The Championships before the gates open.

Hawk-Eye

Electronic line calling system introduced on Centre and No.1 Cts in 2006.  In 2015 covers Centre Court, No.1 Ct, No.2 Ct, No.3 Ct, Court 12, Court 18.

Hawk-Eye – Challenges (singles only) 2014

Men made 428 Challenges and 120 were correct, a 28.0% success rate.

Ladies made 191 Challenges of which 49 were correct, a 25.7% success rate.

Large Screen

The screen is 40 sq metres in size

Live @ Wimbledon

• Enhanced video and radio digital broadcast service blending live tennis with the off-court colour allowing fans a greater interaction and engagement via www.wimbledon.com.
• Video service live in the UK and the Americas, and available on Wimbledon.com and mobile applications. 
• 7 hours live broadcasting day with pre-packaged content such as previews and reviews, match highlights and archive footage.
• For radio listeners, the Live @ Wimbledon radio service offers an enhanced and improved version of the popular Radio Wimbledon. 
• Available worldwide online, and on 3 local FM channels, there are three radio channels for the user to choose from: Around the Grounds, bringing the whole event to life, Centre Court, which will feature ball-by-ball commentary from Centre Court, and No.1 Court, which will feature ball-by-ball commentary from No.1 Court.

Longest Match 

• 2010, Court 18, played over 3 days
• John Isner (USA) bt Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68
• 11 hours 05 minutes duration
• Final set lasted 491 minutes (8hrs11mins), 1hr 38mins longer than the previous longest match in tennis history
• 980 points played in total – Mahut won 502 and Isner 478 of them (Serena Williams won 789 points over seven rounds to win the Ladies' Singles)
• Isner served the most aces in a match – 113
• 123 balls used

Matches

662 during Fortnight

Media (Average)

3,250 media accredited (600 press, 2,450 broadcast personnel, 200 photographers and photographic support staff).

Membership of Club

• Four categories:  Full, Life, Honorary and Temporary.
• Full and Life Membership limited to 375 (the number of seats in the old Worple Road stand).  All enjoy full privileges.
• Hon members elected by the Committee and mostly past singles champions and other people who have given special service to the sport. 
• Around 120 Temp members also elected by the Ctee.  Renewed annually. 
• To become a member must be proposed seconded and supported by 4 existing Full Members, all of whom are required to write in support of the application.
• Waiting list of about 1000 dating back many years. 

Merchandise (2014)

The top selling items in the Wimbledon Shop were: 

• 16,000 Men’s Championships Towel
• 9,000 Women’s Championships Towel
• 11,000 Mini Tennis Ball Keyring
• 10,000 Twin pack wristbands
• 10,000 Mini Umbrellas
• 8,000 Yellow Midi Autograph Ball

Category Best Sellers

• 45,000 units of Headwear
• 37,000 T-shirts and polo shirts
• 50,000 Towelling products
• 90,000 Keyrings, magnets, accessories
• 21,000 units of Confectionery

Museum

Open every day 10:00-17:30.   Closed Fri/Sat/Sun before, middle Sunday of and Monday after event.  Access during event only for people already in Grounds. 

Officials

• Chairman:  Philip Brook (2011)
• Chief Executive:  Richard Lewis (2012)
• Referee:  Andrew Jarrett (2006)
• Chief of Umpires:  Jenny Higgs (2010)
• Head Groundsman:  Neil Stubley (2013)

Official Suppliers 2015

Order of play

Decided by Referee and published around 6.00pm daily.

Players (2014) inc qualifying

757 players  

Prize Money (2015)

Singles Champions:  £1.88m.  Total:  £26.5m.

Qualifying

Mon 22 - Thurs 25 June 2015

Bank of England Sports Ground, Roehampton.

The Queue and General Security

• The 2015 Queue does not start until 8:00am on Sunday 28 June.
• £5.00 fee (proceeds donated to charity) to be levied on storage of camping kit.
• Ground entry security procedures will be at an appropriately high level. 
• On-day sales queue in Wimbledon Park leading to off-site search/scanning operation.
• All ticket holders searched on entry.
• Only one bag per ticket holder allowed.  No larger than 16x12x12ins (40x30x30cm). 
• No hard-sided hampers, cool-boxes or brief cases allowed into the grounds.
• No Left Luggage facilities inside the grounds.  

Racket Stringing

Championships stringing team string on average over 2,000 rackets comprising 60% for men, 40% for women.  In total this adds up to over 40 miles of string. 

Radio Wimbledon

See Live @ Wimbledon. 

Roof (Centre Court)

Completed in 2009.  Main works commenced after 2006 Championships as part of wholesale improvements to the east side of Centre Court.  No roof in 2007.  New fixed roof in 2008, retractable part in 2009. 

Royal Box

Contains 74 dark green Lloyd Loom wicker chairs.  The Queen attended in 1957, 1962, 1977, 2010. 

Seedings

To be announced on Wednesday 24 June 2015, around 10.00am.

MEN

The seeds are the top 32 players on the ATP Ranking list, BUT then rearranged on a surface-based system. Since 2002 a seeding committee has not been required for the Gentlemen's Singles following an agreement made with the ATP. The seeding order is determined using an objective and transparent system to reflect more accurately an individual player's grass court achievements. The formula is:

Take the ATP Ranking points at 22 June 2015.

Add 100% points earned for all grass court tournament in past 12 months.

Add 75% points earned for best grass court tournament in 12 months before that.

LADIES

The seeding order follows the WTA ranking list, except where in the opinion of the comittee, a change is necessary to produce a balanced draw.

Staff

Around 6,000 staff  are taken on for Championships:

• Ball boys & girls:  250
• Ball distributors:  7
• Building Services:  84
• Catering Staff:  1,800
• Cleaners (night):  191
• Cleaners (day):  114
• Court attendants:  151
• Data Collectors: 36
• Dressing room attendants:  22
• Groundsmen:  20
• Left luggage office:  30
• Lift operators:  30
• Physiotherapists:  14
• Practice courts:  8
• Media staff:  38
• Referee's Office:  15
• Scoreboard operators & data collectors:  46
• Security guards:  700
• Stewards (Honorary):  185
• Stewards (Service & London Fire Brigade):  595
• Transport service drivers:  320
• Umpires, Chair and Line: 350

Strawberries & Cream

• Usually Grade I Kent strawberries of the highest quality
• Around 28,000 kg consumed during the Fortnight. 
• Around 8615 punnets (2100 kg) containing minimum of 10 berries consumed daily,
• Served with over 7,000 litres of fresh cream.
• 142,000 portions of strawberries served in 2012.
• To ensure utmost freshness, strawberries are picked the day before being served, arrive at Wimbledon at around 5.30a.m where inspected before being hulled.
• Price of strawberries & cream for punnet of not less than 10 berries + cream:- 
• 1993 - £1.70; 1994 - £1.70; 1995 - £1.75; 1996 - £1.80; 1997 - £1.85; 1998 - £1.85; 1999 - £1.75; 2000 - £1.80; 2001 - £1.85: 2002 - £1.95;  2003 - £2.00;  2004 - £2.00; 2005 – £2.00; 2006-£2.00; 2007-£2.00; 2008-£2.25; 2009- £2.25; 2010 - £2.50; 2011- £2.50: 2012-£2.50, 2013-£2.50, 2014- £2.50.

Tickets

See Tickets

Tickets (resales)

• Used/unwanted tickets recycled via collection from red boxes or bar code scan. 
• Re-sold to people in the grounds.  Priced at £5.00. 
• Since 1954, money raised from returned tickets has been donated to charity. 
• Total net income 2014 was £157,581
• HSBC match means the total funds available for charitable donation via the Wimbledon Foundation was £315,162

Times of Play

• Grounds open at 10:30am.
• Start on Courts 2-19 scheduled for 11:30 daily
• Start on Centre and No.1 Court scheduled for 1.00pm daily except for the Men's and Ladies' Finals at 2.00pm. 
• Close of play:  Approx 9.00pm depending on weather, light and matches state.

Trophies

• Men's Singles – Challenge Cup (since 1887). 
• Ladies' Singles – Ladies' Singles Plate (since 1886)

Umpires

• 350 on duty comprising mostly British plus 60 from overseas. 
• British are members of Association of British Tennis Officials.

Weather

Championships recorded as being without rain interruptions since 1922: 1931, 1976, 1977, 1993, 1995, 2009, 2010.

Wild cards

Announced w/c Monday 15 June 2015.  Awarded at discretion of Championships Committee.  Usually to British players nominated by LTA or special circumstances (eg Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 or a recent Champion whose ranking has fallen through injury).  Eight available in both Men's & Ladies' Singles.