Wimbledon Stories: The Club

Welcome everyone 🎾 🏆

This is the “Wimbledon Stories by Edem Spio” newsletter. Every week I’ll share stories of the many aspects of the Greatest Tennis Grand Slam in the world as a build up to this year’s The Championships! For fellow Tennis lovers as myself, I hope you end up loving Wimbledon – if you already haven’t – as you interact with these stories. For non-tennis fans, I hope you enjoy my weekly pieces!

P.S. As you can clearly tell (from my header photo), I am a massive Federer fan. I’ve been following him actively since childhood and he’s one of the inspirations behind this newsletter - let him know! Roger is and will always be the Tennis GOAT!

Let’s begin!

“THE CLUB”

ORIGIN & MEMBERSHIP

Famously known as The Club all around the world by tennis faithful’s, it was founded as The All England Croquet Club in 1868. 7 years later, Lawn Tennis – a new game called Sphairistik (I’m as confused in the pronunciation as you are) – was introduced at the Club’s new ground in Nursey Road (formerly Nursery Lane), in Wimbledon. In 1899, after the world’s first open tournament was successfully staged, the Club’s name was subsequently changed to The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. The Club’s name finally changed to The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club by the end of the same year. In 1922, The Championships moved to Church Road to house the increasing number of spectators.

The Club has been at the “Centre” of Wimbledon’s history – see what I did there with the centre? IYKYK! It plays the leading role in staging by far the greatest Tennis Grand Slam in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), making Wimbledon the most unique of the four Grand Slams. The Australian Open, Roland Garros and The US Open are directly controlled and staged by their national tennis associations.

The most prestigious and exclusive sports club in the world is made up of a little over 560 people. The Club’s members fall in 5 categories:

1.    Full Members.

2.    Life Members.

3.    Honorary Members.

4.    Temporary Members.

5.    Junior Temporary Members.

Category 1, 2 and 3 are strictly limited to 500 members. Category 1 and 2 are limited to 375, which is the sitting capacity of the stand used at the old grounds. Full and life members enjoy all the privileges of the AELTC. Some of these include:

·     A dedicated seat on Centre Court;

·     Early access to tickets;

·     Access to the Club’s facilities including the world’s top grass courts, gym and locker rooms with marble baths

Roughly 70 people make up the Honorary Members section of the Club. These individuals are selected by the Club’s Committee and mostly consist of previous Singles Champions and individuals who have offered a special service to the sport. The Club’s Patron, the Duchess of Cambridge, is part of the Honorary Members.

About 120 people constitute the Temporary Members section of the Club. Members of this group are routinely elected annually. They are generally active players who regularly utilize the Club’s facilities and participate in matches during their membership period. Two become a member, you’ll need to:

·     Either win the Singles Championships (I wish you the very best) or,

·     Must be proposed, seconded and supported by four existing Full Members. Each are required to support your application in writing (talk about a very tough process!).  

Upon successfully passing the application stage, you’ll be added to the waiting list of over 1000 people, going back many years

THE FAMOUS GREEN & PURPLE

The green and purple of Wimbledon are the most distinct colors in World Tennis – convince me of another combination, I’ll gladly wait. This hasn’t always been the color code for The Championships though. Originally, the combination of red, blue, green and yellow represented the Club. Well, the colors were changed to green and purple in 1909 upon realizing that the previous combination was similar to that of the Royal Marines.

The rationale for the “green and purple” is not clearly written in the annals of the Club - I researched long and wide to find somewhat of a plausible reason. An English scholar and a former teacher called Stephen Woodley, a member of the Club, hints that perhaps the reference to Wimbledon in The Prophetic Books of William Blake, Milton: A Poem in Two Books (Book The Second. Canto 42. Line 29) influenced a Committee member when the Club’s colors was being discussed.

That's all for now folks! Make sure to tune in next week for more Wimbledon stories. Don't forget to like, comment, share and subscribe to the newsletter! Wishing you a Championship Point week!