How Wimbledon Began
On July 9, 1877, a small lawn-tennis tournament began in Wimbledon, a part of London, England. It would become one of the best-known events in tennis. But that first competition looked quite different from the tournament that developed over the following decades.
The event took place at a club where people also played croquet, a lawn game using mallets and balls. Lawn tennis was a newer game. Players used rackets to hit a ball over a net on a grass court. The first Wimbledon tournament had just one event: men's singles, in which two players competed against each other. Twenty-two men entered.
Spencer Gore won the championship. Rain delayed the final match, but spectators eventually gathered to watch him defeat William Marshall. The tournament helped establish rules for lawn tennis as the sport grew. Some details of play changed over time, but players still compete on grass at Wimbledon.
The first tournament did not include women. A women's singles event was added in 1884, and Maud Watson became its first champion. Later champions changed the tournament's history in other ways. In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first Black player to win a Wimbledon singles title. Decades later, sisters Venus and Serena Williams each won multiple Wimbledon singles championships. Venus won her first in 2000, and Serena won hers in 2002.
- tournament:
- A series of games or matches held to find a winner.
- championship:
- A competition or title awarded to its winner.
- delayed:
- Made to happen later than planned.
- spectators:
- People who watch an event.
- establish:
- To create or put something in place.
- decades:
- Periods of ten years.
- accomplishments:
- Things successfully achieved.
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- 1What is the main idea of the passage, and which two details support it?
- 2How was the first Wimbledon tournament different from the tournament in later years?
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About this explanatory article passage for Upper Elementary
“How Wimbledon Began” is a explanatory article reading passage about History of Wimbledon, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (257 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.