The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is based at Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton, at grid reference TQ242721. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, but is also a private members club. It was founded in 1868 as the All England Croquet Club and the then infant sport of tennis was added to its activities shortly afterwards. The first Championships were held in 1877, when it changed its name to The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. In 1882, croquet was dropped from the name, as tennis had become the main activity of the club. But in 1889, it was restored and the club's name became The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Wimbledon (pronounced ) is a suburb of London, part of the London Borough of Merton and located seven miles (11. ... The London Borough of Merton is a London borough in south west London. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... Wimbledon logo The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly referred to as simply Wimbledon, is the oldest and arguably most prestigious event in the sport of tennis. ... 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Winslow Homer: Croquet, 1864 Croquet is a recreational game and, latterly, a sissy sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing arena. ... A tennis net Tennis is a game played between either two players (Singles) or two teams of two players (Doubles). Players use a stringed racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponents court. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Initially a fun amateur event that occupied club members and their friends for a few days in each summer, the championships have now become far more prominent than the club itself. However, it still operates as a members tennis club, with many courts in use all year round. There are around 375 full members, 100 temporary playing members, and a number of honorary members, including past Wimbledon singles champions. The club also houses the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, and it still has a croquet lawn, but it is too small for top level competitions. The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum is a museum concerned with the sport of tennis which is located at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon in South London, the venue of the Wimbledon Championships. ...

The club currently boasts a total of nineteen tennis courts (excluding practice courts), including the historic Centre Court which usually hosts the finals of the main singles and doubles events at the championships. It currently seats almost 14,000 people but will be expanded slightly to around 15,000 as part of planned redevelopments (spatially the expansion is greater than those numbers imply, as seats will also be widened). The club is intending to install a retractable roof on the court by 2009. It will be a "folding concertina" made of a translucent fabric and should be able to open/close within ten minutes. Redevelopment work commenced in 2006. Centre Court may be used generically as the British English term for the main court at any tennis complex. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The other 'show court' is Court 1, built in 1997 which holds around 11,500 people and occasionally plays host to Davis Cup matches (Centre Court being preserved for the Wimbledon Championship) 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The great Australians Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall with the Cup in 1953 The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in mens tennis. ... Centre Court may be used generically as the British English term for the main court at any tennis complex. ...

The club will be the venue for the tennis competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Olympic Flags at Dorney Lake. ...

External link

• Club page on the Wimbledon Championships site