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Image Credits: Tennisnet
WIMBLEDON-A HIGHLY PRESTIGIOUS TOURNAMENT FOREVER
WIMBLEDON tournament is considered the cream of the crop in the sport and one of the major tournaments represented by the sports Lawn Tennis, which is played with great attention and interest. Being one of the 4 Grand Slams, the championship is held in the UK during the middle of the year. The tournament has been held at the "All England Club '' in Wimbledon, London since 1877 where only men were permitted but it's only since 1884, women are playing along with men while mixed doubles and women’s doubles were inaugurated in 1913. A sum of 128 players each in the singles category will compete in the initial round of the singles category, among whom 2 will reach the finals for an aggressive battle. 104 will be chosen through international rankings in the men's category while 108 in women's, 16 through qualifying, and in the last 8 through wildcard entries.
IS WIMBLEDON WORTH KNOWING?
The Wimbledon Championship is termed the most prestigious and most commonly referred to as the oldest tennis tournament in the world and arguably the most famous. The sport is played today too on the very same grass courts and makes itself unique. Players are asked to wear white dresses to compete in the championship which is not seen anywhere and amazes audiences till today, neither in the remaining three Grand Slams nor in the other shirt tournaments.
The Royal Family of England attends this tournament every year in the UK and makes it royal. Apart from them, numerous celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Gemma Arterton, Jeff Bezos, and many more also go to England to stare the tremendous tournament. Wimbledon is the platform and itself that seems to be "Where You Can Be as Famous as the Celebrities."
Till now, Martina Navratilova holds the record for most victories with nine Wimbledon titles in the women's category, highest singles titles- 8 were won by Switzerland's sports Champion Roger Federer in the men's category, while the Australian player Todd Andrew Woodbridge stands with 9 titles in the doubles category.
STATUS AND SYMBOLISM
FRUIT ON WIMBLEDON'S TROPHY?
Nobody is one-hundred percent sure why the trophy features the pineapple, some say the pineapple fruit on the top of the trophy reflects its status as a symbol of prosperity. Though the trophies are not made of complete gold and silver, they are worth more than the quality of the victors.
Image Credits: Wimbledon.com
WIMBLEDON'S POLITICS
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) runs Wimbledon and amid the Russia-Ukraine dispute, Wimbledon has banned players from Russia & Belarus from competing in the upcoming tournament. Because of this decision, top Russian players - former world number 1 Daniil Medvedev, world number 5 Andrey Rublev, and Belarusian stars Aryna Sabalenka, and Victoria Azarenka are forced to skip the tournament and have been reacting in their ways to the decision taken by the committee in acknowledgment to the invasion of Ukraine.
Olympic Champion Alexander Zverev, world number 1 Novak Djokovic, and twenty one-time Grand Slam Champion Spaniard Rafael Nadal slammed Wimbledon for this inappropriate decision and are not in support of the committee. Though none of the players is in support of war and violence, said this is not the wise way to respond to the ongoing war, and banning many top players for which they are not at all responsible is similar to punishing the wrong people.
Six-time Grand Slam Champion, Boris Becker, 54, was sentenced to jail for 30 months on the 28th of April, 2022 in Britain over an unpaid loan of more than 3M on his estate. He was hiding assets, and loans worth millions to avoid repaying debts. From working as PUMA'S brand ambassador to training twenty-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic which helped him in winning 6 Grand Slam titles between 2013 to 2016, how is the tennis star asked to remain behind bars for 2 and ½ years in Britain? He was found to have hidden £2.5M worth of assets.
The German was also declared bankrupt in June 2017 and on April 8 was found guilty of four Insolvency Act offences between June and October of 2017. He had also transferred £390,000 from his account to others including his ex-wife Barbara Becker, and estranged wife Sharley Lilly Becker. He concealed $866,500 of debt and shares in a tech firm. The person who won Wimbledon as an unseeded teenager in 1985 announced retirement in 1999. He said his income "reduced dramatically" after his retirement. Meanwhile, whether the tennis legend would survive mentally in prison is a question mark.
CONCLUSION
"If There Is Grass on the Field It's Time to Play Ball" is one of the slogans of Wimbledon. The 2008 men's singles finals rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal is unforgettable for tennis lovers where Nadal defeated the five-time defending champion, 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 9–7, and won the gentlemen's singles title.
Novak Djokovic, a sports sensation forever, but this time he's a sensation when viewed from outside the sport for being unvaccinated. The star was expelled from Melbourne, Australia where he went to attend the Australia Open this year for not getting vaccinated. But the larger championship, Wimbledon has lifted all the restrictions and allowed Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic to play Wimbledon this year despite being unvaccinated. Just after winning the Australian Open, the Wimbledon 2021 women's champion Ashleigh Barty shocked the world by announcing her retirement to "chase other dreams" when she was world number 1 on March 23 this year at just 25 years of age. This 3 time Grand Slam champion signed up for a golf exhibition to become a professional golfer and apart from sports, the Aussie is also set to release a series of children's books later this year where she gives complete details regarding her tennis career.
The Wimbledon Tournament is scheduled to begin on June 27 and end on July 10 this year in England.
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BY SNEHA VANKUDOTHU
TEAM GEOSTRATA
vankudothusneha1@gmail.com