We’re getting warmed up for Wimbledon 2019 by bringing you some crazy facts and trivia that you may not know about the world of tennis.
The world's oldest court is still in use today
Image Source: en.wikipedia.org
The Royal Tennis Court at Hampton Court Palace is the world’s oldest in-use tennis court. It was built somewhere between 1526 and 1529. The game played on this court is slightly different from modern tennis and was Henry VIII’s preferred venue to play.
The scoring system is based on the clock face
Image Source: standard.co.uk
The origins of the 15,30,40 scoring system are unknown. The most commonly given explanation is that they are based on a clock face at one end of the court. The first point was the first quarter-mark that the minute hand struck on the clock (i.e.: 15). The exception is 40, which was shortened because 45 was too long to say.
A Grand Slam final once finished in 34 minutes!
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Legendary tennis star Steffi Graf demolished her opponent Natasha Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 in a very one-sided affair at the 1988 French Open final. The match took a grand total of 34 minutes to finish.
A 13-year-old has competed at Wimbledon
Image Source: en.wikipedia.org
In 1907, Austrian tennis player Mita Klima became the youngest competitor to have ever played at Wimbledon. She was only 13 years old when she participated in the tournament and unfortunately was knocked out in the first round.
Yellow balls were used for the first time in 1986
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The only reason we use yellow tennis balls today is thanks to Mike Davies, who correctly identified that the original balls were far too difficult to see on television. Older tennis balls were usually white in colour but this all changed in 1972.
Tennis used to be played on an hour-glass court
Image Source: reddit.com
Originally lawn tennis was played on an hour-glass shaped court with a slightly higher net. Rectangular courts were only introduced in 1875 by the All England Croquet Club at Wimbledon when they decided to add tennis to their repertoire.
Maria Sharapova's grunt is louder than an aircraft
Image Source: edition.cnn.com
Maria Sharapova is well known for her loud on-court grunts and shrieks and has been officially recorded at 101 decibels. That is louder than a motorcycle or small aircraft. It’s the same volume as an ambulance siren and near as makes no difference, as loud as a lion’s roar.
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