Wimbledon in numbers
Tournament stats galore, from the longest match to the volume of Pimm’s, the fastest ever serve to the length of a blade of court grass...
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
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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
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
757... players including qualifying
15,000... seats on Centre Court
25,000... Championships' towels sold in the Wimbledon shop during the fortnight last year. Along with that best-selling item, fans also purchased 15,000 mini tennis ball keyrings, 7,000 cans of four tennis balls, 14,000 rubber wristbands and 10,000 umbrellas
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), which are picked the day before, delivered at 5:30am and inspected before being served
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. New balls are stored at precisely 68 degrees centigrade
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
290,000,000... the number of tennis balls that could fit in the Centre Court when the roof is closed
378,800,000... the number of TV viewers expected to tune into Wimbledon around the world, in 182 countries
