{"id":5004,"date":"2026-06-11T09:51:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/?p=5004"},"modified":"2026-06-11T13:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:02:11","slug":"10-wimbledon-facts-that-sound-made-up-but-are-completely-true","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/10-wimbledon-facts-that-sound-made-up-but-are-completely-true\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Wimbledon facts that sound made up (but are completely true)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With Wimbledon 2026 set to begin later this month, attention is once again turning to the world&#8217;s oldest tennis tournament.<\/p>\n<p>First held in 1877, Wimbledon remains one of the most prestigious events in sport and is known for traditions such as its grass courts, all-white dress code and royal patronage. Yet beyond the trophies and famous champions lies a collection of records, milestones and historical moments that have shaped the tournament over nearly 150 years.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DYEYxghCg55\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DYEYxghCg55\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by SPOTV SEA (@spotvsea)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Here are 10 lesser-known facts from Wimbledon history ahead of this year&#8217;s Championships, which will be broadcast live on SPOTV NOW.<\/p>\n<h2>The first-round match that changed tennis forever<\/h2>\n<p>John Isner and Nicolas Mahut produced the longest match in professional tennis history during the first round of Wimbledon in 2010. Played across three days, the contest lasted 11 hours and five minutes before Isner eventually prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6(7)-7, 7-6(3), 70-68. The deciding set alone lasted more than eight hours.<\/p>\n<p>The match became one of the defining moments in modern tennis and played a significant role in the eventual introduction of final-set tiebreak rules across the Grand Slams.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jUgyaoew8as?si=KOqFSUEazCy7pIUp\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Wimbledon&#8217;s first final-set tiebreak in 2019<\/h2>\n<p>After introducing a final-set tiebreak at 12-12 in 2019, Wimbledon did not have to wait long for the new rule to be used. The first singles match to require the tiebreak was the men&#8217;s final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Djokovic saved two championship points before winning 7\u20136(5), 1\u20136, 7\u20136(4), 4\u20136, 13\u201312(3) in four hours and 57 minutes. The contest remains the longest Wimbledon singles final on record.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mnLdAeSXZv0?si=XPC7Ylp88VLspqqb\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Won more points but lost the final<\/h2>\n<p>The 2019 men&#8217;s singles final also produced an unusual statistical anomaly. Although Djokovic won, Federer actually won more points across the match, finishing with 218 points compared to the Serbian\u2019s 204. It remains one of the rare occasions in a Grand Slam final where the runner-up finished with more total points than the champion.<\/p>\n<h2>Only two women won Wimbledon in both the Amateur and Open eras<\/h2>\n<p>The Open Era began in 1968 when professional players were allowed to compete alongside amateurs at Grand Slam tournaments. Only Billie Jean King and Margaret Court managed to win Wimbledon singles titles both before and after the transition, placing them in a unique category in the tournament&#8217;s history.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gzbw0OH76Og?si=TxAWviTFi3deyV88\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Britain&#8217;s wait for a women&#8217;s singles champion stretches nearly half a century<\/h2>\n<p>Virginia Wade remains the last British woman to win the Wimbledon singles title. She defeated Betty St\u00f6ve in the 1977 final during Queen Elizabeth II&#8217;s Silver Jubilee year, with the monarch watching from Centre Court. Nearly five decades later, no British woman has repeated the achievement despite several deep runs from home players.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z5n4vfOZbX0?si=jOcAcibioVfR8aUz\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>The wild card who won the whole thing<\/h2>\n<p>Goran Ivani\u0161evi\u0107 arrived at Wimbledon in 2001 ranked No. 125 in the world and entered the tournament via a wild card. The Croatian, who had previously lost three Wimbledon finals, defeated Carlos Moya, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, Tim Henman and Patrick Rafter en route to his sole Grand Slam title. He remains the only wild-card player to win a Wimbledon singles championship.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/noKfpnUlt-o?si=LnPtE7XW94J8_mxO\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Only two men won Wimbledon without dropping a set in the Open Era<\/h2>\n<p>While several women&#8217;s singles players have won Wimbledon without dropping a set, it has only happened twice in men&#8217;s singles during the Open Era. Only Bj\u00f6rn Borg (1976) and Roger Federer (2017) have completed their title runs with a perfect set record.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1BKicTE-gvQ?si=9mh_YBS9gjXSpNh_\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>132 years without a roof<\/h2>\n<p>For most of Wimbledon&#8217;s history, play remained entirely dependent on the weather. Famous matches including Ivani\u0161evi\u0107&#8217;s 2001 title triumph and the classic 2008 Federer-Nadal final were disrupted by rain delays. A retractable roof was finally installed above Centre Court in 2009, allowing play to continue regardless of conditions and reducing the risk of lengthy weather-related interruptions.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F50B00MV7x8?si=wBNEHKzrf5-ESaLT\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>When Wimbledon was cancelled<\/h2>\n<p>Wimbledon has only been interrupted during three periods in its history: World War I (1915-1918), World War II (1940-1945) and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The most recent cancellation marked the first interruption to the tournament in 75 years.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9Tx93dx5E2Y?si=f5pmcWQCnXxfCAAX\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Double-bagel finals in both Amateur and Open eras<\/h2>\n<p>A 6-0, 6-0 scoreline in a singles final is extremely uncommon, even more so in a Grand Slam. It has happened only three times in major history, and Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam to have produced double-bagel champions in both the Amateur and Open eras. The All England Club first witnessed the feat in 1911 when Dorothea Lambert Chambers defeated Dora Boothby, before Iga \u015awi\u0105tek repeated it 114 years later with her victory over Amanda Anisimova.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/A9NLwJCAPUc?si=o0Lq44fYYuCAF6yD\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Wimbledon 2026 set to begin later this month, attention is once again turning to the world&#8217;s oldest tennis tournament. First held in 1877, Wimbledon remains one of the most prestigious events in sport and is known for traditions such as its grass courts, all-white dress code and royal patronage. Yet beyond the trophies and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/10-wimbledon-facts-that-sound-made-up-but-are-completely-true\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">10 Wimbledon facts that sound made up (but are completely true)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,5],"tags":[264,375],"class_list":["post-5004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-popular","category-top-stories","tag-tennis-en","tag-wimbledon-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5004"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5013,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5004\/revisions\/5013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spotvnow.com\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}