On 9 July, 1877 the first Championships began at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon.
It is the oldest tennis championship in the world, and is the only grand slam' event played on grass.
There was only one event in 1877 the gentlemen's singles (there wouldn't be a ladies' championships till 1884). A field of 22 took part, having paid the one guinea entry fee. It was won by 27-year-old Old Harrovian and ex-Surrey country cricketer, Spencer Gore, who defeated William Marshall 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in front of a crowd of around 200 spectators.
Try 6 free issues of MoneyWeek today
Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.
Start your trial
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Entrance fee for spectators was a shilling, and the prize for the winner was £12 roughly £1,300 in today's money.
Latest Videos FromMoneyWeek
Things have changed greatly since then, of course. It's much more lucrative, for one. This year's men's and women's singles winners will take home £3 million each in prize money, a rise of £300,000 from last year, according to the BBC.
The number of spectators has gone up somewhat, too. More than half a million fans are expected to be in the grounds, who get through nearly 200,000 portions of strawberries during a fortnight, 18,000 servings of fish and chips, and more than 276,000 glasses of Pimms.
There is no information about what sort of profit the first championships made. But in 1879, the first year for which figures are available, there was a surplus' of £116. In 2013, that figure was £35,107,812, 90% of that is handed over to the Lawn Tennis Association to be used to develop British tennis.
