On June 2, 1877, before the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club announced the creation of its first tournament, there was a long debate among the members of the steering committee. In 1876, the committee had appointed George Nicol, a noted croquet player, responsible for all things lawn-tennis. The main questions of the debate, which had begun in 1875, were: under what rules would the competition be held? And what would be the prizes for the winners?
Sportingly speaking, Great Britain breathed during those years obsessed with two issues: encouraging and formalizing sports associations, and unifying the regulations of the new sports. The arrival of the railway, and the incorporation of universities and the upper-middle class was a reality in the strength of sport and competition. But, in most cases, in each area of ??the country, as is still the case today with children in the schoolyards, they played with particular rules.
Lawn-tennis was no exception. There were the rules of Real Tennis, of the Ball Game (lawn-tennis) invented by the Spanish Juan Bautista Augurio Perera and Major Henri Gem in 1872, the rules that Major Wingfield printed on his Sphairistike box in 1874, the rules of Germain’s Lawn Tennis from 1875, plus concepts from the games of Battledore and Shuttlecock (shuttlecock game) and badminton.
On March 3, 1875, John Moyer Heathcote, lawyer and great champion of Real Tennis, inventor of the coated ball that allowed a better bounce to play on grass, together with Henry Jones, one of the founders of the All England Club and Julian Marshall , musician and writer for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), got together to bring order to that gibberish. The MCC had the prestige of being the reference entity for British sport in matters of regulations. Major Wingfield was present at the meeting.
Julian Marshall, author of ‘Annals of Tennis’, had already openly accused Wingfield of plagiarizing the game. Wingflied was the big loser of the meeting in many respects. The main one is that a rectangular court was adopted instead of the Wingfield court which had greater length at the baselines than at the center of the net. It was also arranged for the net posts to remain outside the layout of the track and the height of the track was lowered. For the score, 15, 30, 40 was established, which Gem and Perera used, as well as the games and sets of our days. Likewise, it was ruled that the players would change sides at the end of each set, and with a tie at five a decisive game would be played. The rules of modern tennis were born.
In economic aspects, the club ruled, apart from approving the delivery of the 25 Guineas Cup, to wait for the total collection of registrations to make a distribution according to it.
He also specified that the players had to bring their own rackets, could not wear heels in their shoes, and had to ask the outfielder for the balls for training.
He insisted that the tournament was for amateurs, although this term was then associated with good people. Before the tournament, it was also announced that, during Saturday and Sunday, croquet players would have preference to use the lanes.
The new nets and balls, 15 dozen, were ordered from Jefferies and Co. of Woolwich. There was also a compromise with a neighbour, who lent chairs for the spectators in exchange for the use of the club’s roller and lawnmower for four guineas.
On July 7, 1877, with 22 registered tennis players, the draw was held at 3:30 p.m. in the social chalet and it was established that the prizes would be 12 guineas and a trophy for the champion, seven guineas for the finalist and three for the third place. classified. And once in the draw, the committee had to apply a new concept appearing Mr Bye, the non-existent tennis player who gave way to the next round to his opponent. Unlike what happens today, Mr Bye was not applied in the first round, but in the semifinals. Unbelievably, the first Wimbledon had 3 semifinalists.
On 9 July, also at 3.30 p.m., and in splendid sunshine, the competition began and the price of sixpence to watch games, and another sixpence for the programme, was established for spectators arriving at Worple Road by carriages or via the Southampon Railway. Also in the second round, played on July 10, the sun shone. But the rain and Wimbledon are quite a marriage from its origins. Thus, with a notable influx of public, on Wednesday, July 13, the quarterfinals were played, but the matches were delayed after a huge wind and rain that forced minor repairs on the slopes. And, being 22 competitors and not being a multiple number of four, there were three semifinalists. William Marshall, a 28-year-old architect from Cambridge, is the one who made it to the final thanks to Mr. Bye. His opponent in the final was the surprising Spencer Gore, who eliminated Charles Gilbert Heathcote, the heavy favourite.
Spencer Gore was born in Wimbledon, the son of Charles Alexander Gore, 2nd Earl of Arran and the Isles of Arran, and Lady Augusta Lavinia Priscilla, descendant of the Earldom of Bessborough. He studied at Harrow, where he captained the Zingari cricket team and also practiced with rackets.
So as not to interfere with the big event of the moment, the popular Eton-Harrow cricket match taking place Friday and Saturday at Lords, owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club, the Wimbledon final was postponed until Monday at 4pm, but the rain canceled the day. A new date, Thursday, July 9 at 3:30 p.m., was agreed with the finalists. Delayed, due to a downpour, and in front of 200 spectators, Spencer Gore and William Marshall finally jumped onto a very slippery track.
There were barely 48 minutes of battle, since Gore, constantly going up to the net and with accurate volleys, a blow that could be said to be its inventor. He won with full authority 6-1, 6-2 and 6-4. Gore won 15 sets and 99 games of the 145 he played to win the 25 Guinea Cup. Gore’s victory was considered unsportsmanlike by some circles at the time, since no one had gone to the net until then. Marshall then played the second game of the day, beating Heathcote for second place.
