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Tourney pages: Wimbledon: 2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Wimbledon 2009: #2 Serena Williams 5'9" 135lb RH 2H-BH Wimbledon 2009: #3 Venus Williams 6'1" 160lb RH 2H-BH Wimbledon 2009: 3rd Wimbledon Title 11th GS Singles Title

    If the recent pattern is followed, the ladies qualifying draw for The Championships at Wimbledon will be held on Monday, June 14. Women's qualifying at Roehampton for the 2009 Championships at Wimbledon will begin on Tuesday, June 15. Qualifying finals will be on Thursday, June 17.

    The main draws for The Championships at Wimbledon will be held on Friday, June 18, at 10:00am London time.

The first Ladies Championships at Wimbledon were held in 1884; the drawsheet is at left (photo from Virginia Wade's indispensable book Ladies of the Court).     The "silver flower basket" valued at 20 guineas awarded to champion Maud Watson is now used as the championship trophy at Birmingham, and is known as the Maude Watson Trophy. The 20 guinea valuation seems too high; the cup is not very large, and 20 guineas then would be well over $2000 US today.     The entry fee of 10 shillings and a sixpence equaled about $2.52 US at the time-- which, adjusted for inflation, would be around $56.60 today.     The other "Miss Watson" whom Maude defeated in the final, 6-8, 6-3, 6-3, was her older sister Lillian. Maude would win the title again in 1885, defeating 1884 semifinalist Blanche Bingley.     Blanche, later Mrs. George Hillyard, would win the title six times, a feat matched only by Dorothea K. Douglass Lambert Chambers (7 titles), Suzanne Lenglen (6), Helen Wills (8), Billie Jean King (6), Martina Navratilova (9), and Steffi Graf (7).

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  Wimbledon, 2009:

Williams' Arena: On Saturday at London's All England Tennis Club, in the final of The Championships at Wimbledon, the 2002 and 2003 Wimbledon champion, 27-year-old 2nd-seeded #2 Serena Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, won a third time by defeating her older sister, the 2000, '01, '05 '07 & 08 Wimbledon champion, 28-year-old 3rd-seeded #3 Venus Williams (who also resides at Palm Beach Gardens), 7-6(3), 6-2 (photo shown).     Serena and Venus both held serve for the duration of the 1st set, but Serena broke Venus twice in the 2nd.

    Both players put 61% of their 1st serves in the box, but Serena scored on an amazing 94% of her 1st serve points, while delivering 12 aces with no double faults (Venus: 70%, 2 aces, 3 DFs).
    Serena finished with 25 winners (including the 12 aces) and 12 unforced errors; Venus hit 14 winners, with 18 errors (including the DFs).
    Venus held only 2 break points against Serena during the match, and could not convert either; Serena converted 2 of the 5 break points she held against Venus. match stats

    Serena said: "I didn't expect to come out with the win today. I felt like I had nothing to lose... I felt like all I had to do is go out there and do my best, just stay even, because she's such a good player.
    "When I won that first set, I was like, 'Wow, this is great. No matter what, I'm a set away.' So I was just trying to relax." postmatch interview - BBC story

    Venus said: "I tried my best today. [Serena] played so well, really lifted her game. You know, I had an error here and there. You know, today I couldn't make errors." postmatch interview - BBC: Serena d Venus Game by Game

    Serena now leads Venus 11-10 in career matches. The last time they met had been in March on a Plexipave hardcourt in the semifinals at Key Biscayne, when 5-time Miami champion Serena defeated 3-time Miami champ Venus 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. But Venus won their two prior matches, including their previous meeting on a chlorophyll court, in the 2008 Wimbledon final, when Venus defeated Serena, 7-5, 6-4.

    11-time Grand Slam tourney champion Serena is now 34-13 in WTA singles finals; she won the US Open last year and the Australian Open title in January, but had not won a title since. Serena has a 32-7 match record in 2009.

    7-time Grand Slam tourney champion Venus is now 41-23 in WTA singles finals; she won the Dubai and Acapulco titles earlier this year. Venus has a 27-7 match record for the season.

Men's Final: s2 Roger Federer SUI d s6 Andy Roddick USA 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14    15th Grand Slam Singles Title
    77 games: most ever in singles final;     4hrs, 16min: tied for 2nd longest singles final;
    30 game set longest ever in singles final     match stats

2009 Major Skirmishes, Top Half 4th Round: #1 Dinara Safina d #17 A Mauresmo 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 #3 Venus Williams d #13 Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 0-1 retired #43 Sabine Lisicki d #9 Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-4 #11 A Radwanska d #124 Melanie Oudin 6-4, 7-5 Quarterfinals: #1 Dinara Safina d #43 S Lisicki 6(5)-7, 6-4, 6-1 #3 Venus Williams d # 11 A Radwanska 6-1, 6-2 Semifinal: #3 Venus Williams d #1 Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-0   2009 Major Skirmishes, Bottom Half 4th Round: #2 Serena Williams d #33 D Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1 #4 Elena Dementieva d #38 Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3 #8 Victoria Azarenka d #10 N Petrova 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-3 #50 F Schiavone d #25 V Razzano 6-2, 7-6(1) Quarterfinals: #2 Serena Williams d #8 V Azarenka 6-2, 6-3 #4 Elena Dementieva d #50 F Schiavone 6-2, 6-2 Semifinal: #2 Serena Williams d #4 E Dementieva 6(4)-7, 7-5, 8-6 name in italics = arrived by upset of higher ranked player

AELTC: Farewell to Court #2, the "Graveyard of Champions - AELTC: Useful Information about Wimbledon 2009

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    2009 prize money is listed below; the champion's prize has been increased by 13.3%, and the qualifying 1st round loser's money by 3.1%, but, because the pound has fallen so far against the dollar, the prizes in US currency are all lower than in 2008.

WTA SCOREBOARD: The Championships at Wimbledon s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? prizes in US $ are at Jun 12 conversion rate The Championships,  Wimbledon, London, England   tourney time:        = GMT +1 hours        = US EDT +5 hours        = US PDT +8 hours London News - England News - UK News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     The Championships at Wimbledon have 32 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. There are 12 qualifiers and 8 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Thursday. Early round play begins at noon local time, QFs & SFs at 1pm, and the Final at 2pm on Saturday.   click for broader view All England Club Latitude: 51.434113 Longitude: -0.214491 goto link for World Wind MultiMap's photo-map - venue map, .pdf All England Lawn Tennis Club address: London SW19, England, UK 2009: On Wednesday, June 17, in London, 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova paid a visit to the London College of Fashion... On Thursday, June 18, Vera Zvonareva, 2000, '01, '05 '07 & 08 champ Venus Williams, '02 & '03 champ Serena Williams, British #1 Anne Keothavong, Ana Ivanovic, and Elena Dementieva posed for a group pic at the Branson/Virgin-sponsored WTA player party... row 2: Serena & Venus, Anne, Vera, Elena and Ana were also photographed less formally... row 3: On Saturday and Sunday, June 20 & 21, players practicing at Wimbledon included 2000, '01, '05, '07 & '08 champion Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova (waiting for Ahmad to get open downfield), Serena Willams, and Ana Ivanovic...

Wimbledon, 1st Round Mon-Tue Jun 21-22 noon loser's prize: £10,750 = US $17,672; points: 5 Dorothy Round of Britain, left, and 4 other players check out the Wimbledon drawsheet in 1934. Dorothy would win that year, and again in 1937. photo from the book Visions of Wimbledon     "All players who qualify by ranking for acceptance into the Main Draw of a Grand Slam Tournament will be entered automatically.     "The ranking points earned by any player who qualifies for acceptance in the Main Draw of a Grand Slam Tournament must count on a player's ranking as one her best of seventeen (17) Tournament results.     "Any player who is orginally accepted into the main draw, or becomes a direct acceptance and subsequently withdraws and therefore fails to play a Grand Slam Tournament, will automatically receive "0" points for the Tournament and it will count on the player's ranking as one of her best 17 Tournament results."

Wimbledon, 2nd Round Wed-Thu Jun 23-24 noon loser's prize: £17,750 = US $29,179; points: 100

Wimbledon, 3rd Round Fri-Sat Jun 25-26 noon loser's prize: £29,250 = US $48,084; points: 160

Wimbledon, 4th Round, Mon Jun 28 noon loser's prize: £53,250 = US $87,538; points: 280

Wimbledon, QFs, Tue Jun 29 1pm loser's prize: £106,250 = US $174,664; points: 500

Wimbledon, SFs, Thu Jul 1 1pm loser's prize: £212,500 = US $349,328; points: 900

Wimbledon, Final, Sat Jul 3 2pm loser's prize: £425,000 = US $698,657; points: 1400 winner's prize: £850,000 = US $1,397,314; points: 2000

Wimbledon, Doubles Final, Sat Jul 3 losers' prize: £115,000 = US $189,048 winners' prize: £230,000 = US $378,097 Wimbledon, Mixed Doubles Final, Sun Jul 4 losers' prize: £46,000 = US $75,619 winners' prize: £92,000 = US $151,239 Wimbledon, Girls' Singles Final, Sat Jul 3 Wimbledon, Girls' Doubles Final, Sun Jul 4 Wimbledon, Invitation (over 35) Doubles Final, Sun Jul 4 losers' prize: £14,000 = US $23,014 winners' prize: £17,000 = US $27,946 Wimbledon, Qualifying Finals at Roehampton, Thu Jun 17 11am Q1st loser's prize: £1,675 = US $2,754; 2 points Q2nd loser's prize: £3,350 = US $5,507; 15 points Qfinal loser's prize: £6,700 = US $11,014; 25 points Wimbledon, Withdrawals/Non-entries

"A Grand Slam of course is a big tournament, but if you lose, what happens? Nothing really happens. Life goes on. So I think you just need to be relaxed and have fun on court." Caroline Wozniacki, June 23, 2009

from Ladies of the Court by Michael Mewshaw, (pages 122-123):     Years ago the Competitor's Lounge at Wimbledon had, in theory, been the sacrosanct preserve of players and their guests. But, in practice, it had always been a throbbing hive of hustlers, racquet dealers, clothing reps, agents, tournament directors, assorted groupies, gofers, and camp followers. Now journalists had access to this sanctuary. Flashing a special forty-five minute permit, I passed the guard at the door and, during yet another rain delay, climbed the stairs to the third floor and stopped at the Prize Money Office, where a woman cheerfully explained her job.     Once a player lost, he or she popped in here to pick up a check. A player's agent or manager could collect prize money, but only with written permission. "Even though we know, for example, that Ion Tiriac is Boris Becker's manager, we have to have it in writing before we'll hand over Becker's money," the woman said.     "What if the players want cash?" I asked.     "Then they carry the check to the bank here on the grounds."     "Do you deduct U.K. taxes?"     Indeed she did. Foreigners paid a flat 25% on their winnings, but they received a £150 per diem exclusion before British taxes bit into their purse. The Prize Money Office also deducted WTA dues and fines for code violations. Although it sounded complicated, she assured me that "because of computers, we can get a player in and out in thirty or forty seconds. That's a lot different from the old days." She smiled sweetly. "Now I'm afraid I can't say anything else."     "Do you ever get any strange requests?"     The smile never faltered. "Lots, but I'm not allowed to tell you."

from Lawn Tennis for Ladies (1910) by 7-time Wimbledon champion Dorothea K. Douglass Lambert Chambers, p.111-112     I once overheard a lady who was watching a match in the centre court at Wimbledon remark, "There, that's the very first time that man has hit the net with the ball, and he has had hundreds of tries!..."     Another lady at Eastbourne, whom I had noticed because she never left her seat, bringing her lunch with her so as not to lose a moment's play, asked me at the end of the week, while watching a double, whether the partners were side by side or opposite, as in bridge!

from Hard Courts by John Feinstein (page 306):     Nothing in tennis can match the tension of day one at Wimbledon.     Everyone is tight, nervous, and ready to explode with pent-up energy. The other Grand Slams are very important; Wimbledon is history... Only at Wimbledon does Centre Court stay empty from the day of the final until the Saturday before the tournament begins the next year.     Only at Wimbledon do you walk underneath the huge sign over the door leading to Centre Court, which quotes Rudyard Kipling: "If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat these two imposters the same."...     ...The weather in England is almost always rotten. Rain cuts practice time, as does a lack of practice courts. At Wimbledon, practice time on the sixteen outside courts is limited to thirty minutes at a time--unless two seeded players are practicing together. Then, they can get an hour. The adjacent practice courts at Aorangi Park (so named because the land was once owned by the government of New Zealand) are not as tight, but still tough to come by. By the time the tournament begins, people are a little tired, a little homesick, frequently frustrated, and very, very nervous.

from Hard Courts by John Feinstein (page 306):     Wimbledon's qualifying tournament is not played at Wimbledon, it is played at the Bank of England tennis club, at Roehampton, about eight miles from the All England Club.     Everyone who has played there--and almost everyone has at some point--will tell you that the toughest tennis tournament in the world is the one at Roehampton. "There is nothing in the world farther from Wimbledon than Roehampton," John McEnroe once said. "You survive there, you're a hell of a tennis player."     ...There are sixteen courts at Roehampton. Unlike the pampered, protected courts at Wimbledon, they are in constant use--and it shows. There are brown patches everywhere--or, to be accurate, green patches on the brown--and after it rains, players would be well advised to show up wearing cleats rather than sneakers.     ...When the players arrive at Roehampton, they report to the referee's tent to sign in; then they await court assignments. Waiting for their matches to be called, most kill the time sitting on a large, grassy knoll that serves as both the players' and the umpires' lounge. The P.A. system is the focal point of all life at Roehampton. Announcements calling players and umpires to their courts, paging people to the telephone, seeking drivers to take players back to hotels, or updating schedules can be heard around the grounds all day long.     The P.A. is just one of a number of distractions players must deal with while they are playing. Admission to Roehampton is free; there are no ushers and no security...     ...the atmosphere is not the kind tennis players are accustomed to--people talking and laughing while strolling past the courts... if one wants to qualify for Wimbledon, one has to earn it.     Roehampton is both a launching pad and a graveyard...

    (May 23, 2007) The AELTC has installed Hawkeye instant replay gear on Centre Court and Court 1. At Wimbledon in 2007, players on these courts will be allowed three incorrect challenge-video replays in each set, after which they can no longer challenge calls in that set. The US and Australian Opens both utilize the Hawkeye instant replay system on show courts, and allow players to challenge calls and request replays until they lose two challenges in each set. Roland Garros does not yet have any form of instant replay gear installed for French Open call challenges--of course, on clay courts, ball marks are generally used to judge questionable calls. AP story

    (Jan 6, 2004 revised) Wimbledon will have a new retractable roof for Centre Court in place in 2009, officials announced. Construction will begin after The Championships in July, 2006. The 2007 Championships will be played with no roof at all (the current partial roof removed), a new fixed partial roof will be in place in 2008, and the retractable roof completed in 2009. The roof will take 10 minutes to deploy, so Centre Court rain delays of up to 30 minutes will still be possible, but the roof is being installed to assure TV networks of almost continuous coverage, even if it rains. The arena's capacity will also be increased from 13,800 to 15,000. AELTC Long-Term Plan - original BBC story.

    The article on equal pay for women in pro tennis, the Slims Tour, and the formation of the WTA, formerly reproduced here, is permanently archived on the Wimbledon 2007 page.

See also: QuickShop: Sporting Goods - Martina Hingis - Anna Kournikova

Current WTA Results & Tennis News (tennis home page) - 2010 WTA Schedule with links & photos

Link to many postmatch interview & match highlight videos of WTA players at the 2009 WTA Player Videos page.

WTA PhotoRankings: the current top 20 Women's Tennis rankings with player photos, links, and bio info.