8... regulation height in millimetres of a blade of grass on each Wimbledon tennis court

10... maximum time in minutes it takes the retractable roof on Centre Court to close. In contrast, a team of 16 people can cover the rain-threatened playing surface with a high-tech tarpaulin in approximately 30 seconds

16... height in metres from the surface of Centre Court to the roof

40... miles of string used by the Championships dedicated team to prepare an average of more than 2,000 rackets. See also 40 square metres – the size of the giant outdoor screen on the Aorangi Park picnic terrace (aka Henman Hill, aka Murray Mound)

148... speed, in miles per hour, of the fastest ever serve at Wimbledon, as struck by Taylor Dent of the USA in 2010. Fellow American Venus Williams has the women’s record of 129mph, set in 2008

212... the record number of aces served during a tournament by a single player - Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic in 2001. The ladies’ record is 57, jointly held by Americans Alexandra Stevenson, set in 1999, and Serena Williams, equalled in 2008

250... ball boys and girls make the grade, after coming through a rigorous training routine

350... umpires are in the chairs, and on the lines, during the tournament

584... players took part in the Championships in 2011, including the pre-fortnight qualifiers

660... matches are played during the Wimbledon fortnight

665... the duration in minutes of the longest match in Wimbledon history. John Isner of the US finally beat Nicolas Mahut of France after a total of 11 hours and 5 minutes on court in their first-round match in 2010. Isner won the tie-break 70 points to 68 in a final set that lasted 8hrs 11mins, and used 123 balls

15,000... seats on Centre Court

15,637... Men’s Championships towels sold in the Wimbledon shop during the fortnight last year. Along with that best-selling item, fans also purchased 11, 969 mini tennis ball keyrings, 9,279 Ladies Championships towels, 8,628 cans of four tennis balls, 7,282 twin packs of wristbands, 6,850 giant (five-inch) tennis balls and 6,814 Wimbledon Crossed Rackets t-shirts

28,000... kilograms of strawberries consumed each year, along with 7,000 litres of cream. Spectators are usually treated to Grade I Kent strawberries (no less than ten per punnet), but this year’s bad weather has reportedly led to the worst crop in living memory, meaning foreign strawberries are likely to be shipped in

38,500... spectators - the capacity of the Wimbledon grounds as a whole

54,250... tennis balls used during Wimbledon. New balls are requested after the first seven games of each match, plus the warm-up period, then every nine games after that

200,000... glasses of Pimm’s drunk during the fortnight. But the traditional drink of Wimbledon gets a run for its money from some other British beverages. Spectators knock back a total of 300,000 cups of tea and coffee and 100,000 pints of draught beer and lager. Those feeling particularly flush (perhaps celebrating a British victory?) consumed 25,000 bottles of champagne

511,043... highest total number of spectators to attend the Championships, set in 2009 and very slightly less than the maximum possible given the daily capacity of 40,000 people

16,100,000... total prize money in Pounds Sterling at Wimbledon this year - including £1,150,000 each for the winners of the mens' and ladies' singles. But while the most successful players in the tournament will see a year-on-year rise of "only" £50,000 (4.5 per cent), those lower down the chain will fare much better. Thanks to a campaign led by current champion Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and others, players who go out in the first round will receive £14,500, a 26 per cent rise from last year

378,800,000... the number of TV viewers expected to tune into Wimbledon around the world, in 182 countries