Wimbledon - John Barrett

The complete history of the tennis tournament known simply as The Championships, which has been held since 1877 at the All-England Club, Wimbledon.The Wimbledon Championships began life in 1877 as little more than a Victorian summer pastime. Nowadays, for two weeks in June, the whole of the tennis world converges SW19 for one of the defining moments of the British summer.In Wimbledon: The Official History of the Championships, endorsed by the All England Club, John Barrett chronicles the fascinating story of the development of the tournament decade by decade, set against the backdrop of world events to provide an entirely new perspective. He describes the great players who have appeared at The Championships, discusses some of the controversies that have raged, such as the dramatic exit of Suzanne Lenglen in 1926 and the scandalous reaction to the lace panties of `Gorgeous' Gussie Moran in 1949, and some of the truly great moments, the duals between McEnroe and Borg and, more recently, Pete Sampras' seventh singles title.Within each decade are photographs and biographies of every men's and ladies singles champion, complete with every singles result from the 114-year history of The Championships, contained in an impressive statistics section.Containing more than 400 photographs, Wimbledon: The Official History of the Championships is an absorbing portrait of an occasion that has become as much an institution as an international sporting event.