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4. Long term relationships with suppliers
Slazenger, the official supplier of balls since 1902, is the oldest supplier with Wimbledon. Some of the other marquee names include Robinsons (official soft drink since 1935), IBM (official information technology povider since 1990), Hertz (official transport supplier since 1995), Lanson (official champagne supplier since 2001), Ralph Lauren (official outfitter since 2006), HSBC (official bank since 2007), Evian (official water supplier since 2008), Jacob’s Creek (official wine supplier since 2011), Lavazza (official coffee supplier since 2011), Stell Artois (official beer supplier since 2014) and Jaguar Land Rover (official car from this year).
These marquee names are ‘suppliers’, not ‘sponsors’. With no room for confusion between sponsorship and ownership, the Wimbledon calls the shots and is at the helm of all event affairs.
By maintaining long term and mutually beneficial relationships with 12 official blue chip suppliers, Wimbledon creates an experience par excellence for players and the spectators.
5. Prize money, yelevision ratings and media hits
Grand Slams Prize Money Comparison (Courtesy: www.totalsportek.com)
| AUSTRALIAN | FRENCH | WIMBLEDON | US OPEN | |
| TOTAL | $36.3 million | $30.2 million | $39.76 million | $38.3 million |
| SINGLES WINNERS | $2.4m | $2m | $2.4m | $3m |
| Runner ups | $1.21m | $1m | $1.23m | $1.43m |
The prize money at Wimbledon is the highest. As per a Factiva Survey, Wimbledon leads the other Grand Slams in terms of media hits and stands second in terms of television ratings.
6. The Wimbledon Records – Indicators of greatness and glory
In 1985, Boris Becker won his first Wimbledon as an unseeded 17-year-old. The German, who now coaches the World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, said, "Wimbledon is obviously the most important tournament of all of them and once you become champion, your life changes for ever. It is a very special tournament.”
In 2001, Goran Ivanisevic won his maiden Wimbledon as a wild card. After he won, he was quoted as saying, ”It was written somewhere that it was my time. I did everything in my life the harder way. Why do it easy if you can do it the hard way?"
Some other players who booked their place in Wimbledon history with solitary titles include Jana Novotna in 1998 and Marion Bartoli in 2013.
No one knows the Wimbledon script better than the legendary Martina Navratilova, who won a record nine singles titles. She is seen at Wimbledon every year till today, and when asked to sum up her experience, she says, “It’s like coming home. So many changes have happened over the years but it still feels the same.”
Steffi Graf, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, said that even though she had visited Wimbledon as a child, nothing could ever prepare her for the ‘power and beauty’ of Centre Court when she walked on to it for the first time.
The importance of records created and held at Wimbledon is second to none.
