Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum
Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
Church Road
Wimbledon
London SW19 5AE
About Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum
Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum is a state of the art family attraction opened by H.R.H. The Duke Of Kent in April 2006. It won a Visit London Awards gold for ‘Best Tourism Experience 2007’, making it a right royal family day out!
Based at the Lawn Tennis Association’s heart, off Church Road, the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum features unseen exhibits and artefacts and is open all-year round, except during The World Championships, when it is only accessible to tournament ticket holders. However, for a fun family day out, a ticket to Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum is as exciting as a match-point tie-breaker, and won’t be interrupted by the weather, or a Cliff singalong! Just the ticket.
The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum is set within the Centre Court area and chronicles the game of lawn tennis from its modern origins in the 1870s, to the present. Highlights include the original Championship trophies, video footage of great players in action, and ‘real tennis’ memorabilia that dates back to 1555. Also available is an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the grounds, including the Centre Court and No. 1 Court, plus the Fred Parry Statue and the Press Interview Room, making for an informative and fun family day out.
Among other items on show at the family attraction is an outfit worn by Martina Navratilova, items from Bjorn Borg, a racquet from Tim Henman, clothing and rackets from Venus Williams and Goran Ivanisevic, plus kits from Jamie Murray and Jelena Jankovic.
The history of the tournament is outlined at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, beginning with the foundation of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in 1868, as 'The All England Croquet Club'. In 1875, lawn tennis, a game introduced by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year earlier (based around real tennis and originally dubbed Sphairistike), was incorporated into the Club.
In 1877, it became 'The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club' and held the first Lawn Tennis Championship. A new code of rules was agreed and the Gentlemen's Singles was won by Spencer Gore, from a field of 22. Some 200 spectators paid a shilling each to watch the final.
By 1882, 'croquet' was dropped from the Club title (though restored in 1899 for sentimental reasons), and in 1884, the first Ladies' Singles was won by Maud Watson, from 13 entries. By 1905, May Sutton of the United States became the first Champion from overseas and so began the modern era of world competition that is at the heart of the Championships and the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.
Other highlights of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum include a superb Cinema that features a 200° screen immersing the viewer (with an ocular plane of only 147°) into the world of The Championships by screening The Science Of Tennis movie. Filmed during the 2005 tournament on Centre Court, it features Russia's Maria Sharapova and Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives. Graham English Productions used a rig of five simultaneous-shooting panoramic cameras and the result is a breath-taking production that can be frozen and rotated around the field of action at will. Utilising this innovative technique, the film focuses on 20 different aspects of the match and shows how the players' bodies and equipment were affected during it.
Equally hi-tech, and as stunning as a Sharapova smash, is the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum McEnroe's Ghost exhibit – one of only two such projected films in the UK, whereby a 3-D John McEnroe takes a trip down memory lane and revisits the 80s Gentlemen's Dressing Room. His spectral image takes us on a tour of normally off-limits areas, with reminiscences about Dressing Room goings-on, including how he first met Jimmy Connors, and how he would psychologically prepare himself for matches. The only thing missing are the Mc’s expletives – you cannot be serious! Worth the price of the ticket alone to see that bandana again.
A fun family day out is further enhanced by the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum’s Whites Of Wimbledon display of clothing worn by players from the 1880s onwards, including Rafael Nadal's dri-fit 'pirate' trousers. In contrast, there’s an interactive exhibit where you can feel the weight difference between male and female clothing in 1884, and marvel that anyone could run or even stretch in such kit!
The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum also focuses on New Technology with Interactive touch-screen consoles distributed throughout the Museum hallways. These information access points feature a 'Get A Grip' rotating wheel of rackets; 'The Reactor' game; and a video archive of great past Championship matches.
The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum Tour can be pre-booked by ticket holders and includes the Picnic Terraces and Water Gardens, with their views from ‘Henman Hill’/’Murray Mound’ across London, The Millennium Building, and the Press Interview Room, out-of-bounds during The Championships, as well as either Centre Court or the BBC Television Studio, depending on working commitments.
Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum ticket holders also gain access to the Renshaw Café, located on the ground floor of the No.1 Court, for a traditional serving of strawberries and cream – an essential part of a family day out at Wimbledon. Then there’s the Kenneth Ritchie Library, which is part of The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. It houses one of the leading collections anywhere of UK and overseas lawn tennis books, annuals, periodicals, programmes, newspaper cuttings and videos. It’s available to ticket holders on request for study and research, and its catalogue is accessible via the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum Shop. It’s located at the entrance to the Museum and boasts a great range of official merchandise, taking in tennis leisure clothing and accessories, DVDs, books, jewellery and souvenirs. The whole area has disabled-access facilities and makes for a lively family attraction for everyone.
Also on offer from Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum are educational Workshops and Children’s Guided Tours, part of the Museum Education Programme, which include a range of ‘pocket money’ tennis gifts and a packed-lunch. Corporate entertainment is available at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum too, with its gallery hosting banquets, receptions, meetings or press conferences for groups up to 60-strong. Parties of 150 can have cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the Museum or on Henman Hill, while St. Mary’s Walk leads into the Millennium Building, where players meet the press.
Additionally, Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum looks forward to the 2012 Summer Olympics, when Wimbledon is an official venue, and not just a family attraction offering a unique and captivating family day out! A ticket to this ride could even inspire the next Henman or Murray, who might one day become an exhibit inside the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum themselves. Game set and match!