5. The 'ball' game
A total of 54,250 tennis balls are used throughout the tournament. Every 7-9 games the balls are replaced to ensure that they are in pristine condition. Any unused balls are placed in refrigerated containers to maintain their condition.
Wimbledon used white tennis balls earlier but changed them to yellow in 1986 so that the TV cameras could see the ball better.
6. What's with all the curtseying?
Held in the English capital, the home of the British monarchy, Wimbledon has always had strong associations with royalty. Centre Court plays host to the Royal Box, where the King – or in more recent years the Queen – traditionally sits.
Earlier, the players had to curtsey to the Royal Box even if no member of the Royal family was present at the venue. That requirement, however, was thankfully scrapped in 2003; now, the curtsey is mandatory only if the Queen or the Prince of Wales is in attendance.
7. Brexit shaved off the Wimbledon prize money purse too!
If you thought Brexit had no effect on sports, think again. The fall in the currency value of the British pound after the announcement of Britain’s decision to leave the EU has directly impacted the prize money that the winners will take home this year.
The men’s and women’s champion will take home £2 million each this year, and before the Brexit referendum that translated to roughly US$3 million (at approximately US$1.5 to the pound). After Brexit, however, the exchange value fell to US$1.32 to the pound, which meant that the Wimbledon winner’s purse declined to US$2.64 million. That’s a loss of nearly US$360,000!
Maybe the players should have had a special referendum to decide on Brexit.
8. Being a ballkid at Wimbledon is not child's play
The ball boys and ball girls have the toughest jobs in the tournament because they need to have quick reflexes and keep track of the tennis balls. Months before the tournament begins – in February, to be exact – the children start undergoing intensive training so that they are ready to take up this arduous task!
There are four training sessions every week, with each lasting around 2.5 hours and being attended by 50-60 children. A total of 250 ball boys and girls are finally selected for the Championships, and they have quite a tough job on their hands during the fortnight!
9. If you’ve quite finished, we need it back
After the respective finals have concluded and the trophies have been presented, the winning players have to return the silverware they've just captured. The trophies are then put on display at the All England Club’s museum.
Fortunately, the winners do get to take home a replica of the trophy as proof of the pudding. But the real trophies remain safely in a glass case for posterity!
10. Wimbledon has a special kind of security
The tournament sees some high-profile celebrities in attendance, but there’s a very special man named Rufus in charge of security.
Rufus, a Harris Hawk, has been trained especially to deal with London’s pigeon menace. He’s made to fly four hours a day over the grounds to ward off the pigeons!
