Wimbledon exists because a lawn roller broke.
In 1877, a small croquet club in southwest London had a money problem. The heavy roller that flattened its lawns, the kind a pony pulled, had broken, and the club could not afford to fix it. It had only picked up lawn tennis a couple of years earlier, as people were losing interest in croquet. So a few members hit on a plan. They would put on a tournament of the new game and charge people to enter.
Twenty-two men signed up. Each paid an entry fee of one guinea, just over a pound, while about 200 people paid a shilling, small change, to watch a final that rain pushed back three days. The whole event made around £10 in profit, and the club finally got its roller fixed.
The man who won it was not even a fan of the game. Spencer Gore, a 27-year-old cricketer, found lawn tennis boring and figured it would never count as a serious sport. He came back the next year, lost in the final, and never played again. He did leave one mark, though. Gore was the first player to charge the net and hit the ball before it bounced, a move that would shape grass-court tennis for more than a century.
That broken-roller fundraiser turned into the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and the only one of the four biggest tournaments still played on grass. The US Open gave up grass back in the 1970s, and the Australian Open followed in the 1980s. Wimbledon held on to the surface the whole sport started out on.
Gore won 12 guineas for his trouble, about £13, plus a silver cup worth twice that. Today the champion walks away with £3 million, and even a player who loses in the very first round takes home £66,000. The crowd has changed too. About 200 turned up for that first final, while the 2025 tournament drew a record 548,770 over two weeks. All of it started with a broken roller and a club that decided to sell tickets.
Christian Eriksen has just collapsed on the pitch during Denmark’s game against Ukraine.
He lay down on the pitch for a few minutes, but eventually was able to get up and walk to the ambulance himself.
Danish FA: "Christian Eriksen is conscious and doing well under the circumstances."
The game has been called off.
Stay strong, Christian 🙏
Fünf Jahre nach seinem Herzstillstand bei der Europameisterschaft ist #Dänemarks Christian #Eriksen vom VfL Wolfsburg erneut auf dem Spielfeld zusammengebrochen. Während des Länderspiels gegen die Ukraine fiel der 34-Jährige in der 65. Minute zu Boden. 🇩🇰
Mitspieler riefen sofort die dänischen Teamärzte herbei und bildeten einen Sichtschutz um ihren Kapitän. Der Wolfsburg-Profi konnte allerdings nach einer ersten Behandlung wieder aufstehen und unter dem Applaus der Zuschauer und Spieler auf eigenen Beinen zu einem Krankenwagen gehen, der auf das Stadiongelände gefahren kam. 🚑
Deutschland führt gegen die USA, aber der eigentliche Sieger steht am Spielfeldrand: ein Buffet, das aussieht, als würde gleich die Jahreshauptversammlung eines mittelständischen Heizungsbauers beginnen. #usager#dfb
🔜🏆 In der ersten Hauptrunde des DFB-Pokals 2026/27 trifft Borussia Dortmund auswärts auf den HEBC Hamburg. Die Partie wird am 1. oder 2. September ausgetragen. 🗓️
100 Jahre Stadion Rote Erde.
Ein Ort mit Geschichte, Seele und schwarzgelber Identität.
Bodenständigkeit, Gemeinschaft, Leidenschaft und Tradition.
Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
#BVB#StadionRoteErde
Maja Chwalinska after losing to Mirra Andreeva in Roland Garros final
“First of all congrats to Mirra. You’re such an incredible player. You’re so young and talented, it’s so annoying 😂😂😂. Congrats to you and your team for an amazing job. I wish you all the best for the future.” ❤️
🥹🧡 QUÉ LINDO GESTO DE FLAVIO COBOLLI.
Tras la baja de Arnaldi, salió a entrenarse en la Chatrier para el público que había ido a ver el duelo entre italianos.
Además, invitó a entrar a la cancha a los dos chicos que iban a acompañarlos.