2012 Olympic Venue Preview: Wimbledon

Location: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, familiarly the All England Club, in London suburb of Wimbledon.

Events: Tennis

Construction: Founded in 1868, given its many capital letters in 1889; famed Centre Court opened in 1922.

Acres: 42

Courts: 33, including 19 grass courts.

The All England Club, site for the Wimbledon Championships since 1877, is being used once again for Olympic tennis. Exceptionally old people will remember that the Club was also the site for Olympic tennis in the 1908 Summer Games, when Great Britain’s own Josiah Ritchie took the men’s singles gold, and Wilberforce Eaves won the bronze.

Built originally as a croquet venue in the mid-19th century, Wimbledon quickly became a lawn tennis-heavy site as the croquet craze passed; the 1889 inclusion of croquet in the venue’s formal title was for sentiment’s sake. Few changes have been made to it over the years, with Centre Court only getting a roof in 2009.

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Wimbledon sprawls over more than 42 green acres in the Wimbledon district of London, which is home to around 57,000 adults. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Centre Court, the No. 1 Court and the No. 2 Court will host the Olympic tennis competitions, featuring men’s and women’s singles and doubles tournaments and a mixed doubles tournament. Play will begin on July 28 and end August 5.

Temporary facilities have been added since the Wimbledon Championships earlier in July that will be deconstructed shortly after the Games.