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    Former Wimbledon champions celebrate 100 years of Centre Court

    Wimbledon marked 100 years of its Centre Court on Sunday with a musical celebration and a parade of former champions.

    The Championships moved to its present site on Church Road in 1922, the same year Centre Court was opened.

    Built in just nine months, it is now the sixth-largest tennis-specific stadium in the world, with a capacity of 14,979.

    2022 is a very special year for Wimbledon, marking 100 years since our move to Church Road, and the centenary of Centre Court, an unparalleled cathedral of sport.
    This year’s Championships pays homage and celebrates Centre Court: an engineering marvel of a structure built in just nine months; its iconic status in tennis and wider in sport, and the drama and iconic moments that have unfolded over the last 100 years.

    It is the centre of our Championships and a witness to change and evolution. It is a stage that inspires dreams and the next century starts now. Wimbledon are looking forward to writing the next chapter of The Championships’ and Centre Court’s story.

    Eight-time men’s champion Roger Federer, who is not playing this year because of a knee injury, said he hoped to play at the famous arena “one more time” in the future.

    “It is great to be here with all the other champions,” 40-year-old Federer said. “I’ve been lucky enough to play a lot of matches on this court.

    “It has given me my biggest wins and my biggest losses, and I hope I can come back here one more time.”

    Also on Centre Court for the event was Novak Djokovic, on the same day he plays his fourth-round match on the same court against Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven.
    Djokovic said it was “an honour to be on the same court with legends of our sport”, and that Sampras had also proved an inspiration for his career.

    Wimbledon stalwart Sir Cliff Richard and British singer Freya Ridings performed to the crowd, on the first scheduled middle Sunday of the tournament, and there were guest appearances from a host of famous faces.

    Martina Navratilova, who holds the Wimbledon record with nine singles titles, tweeted she was “gutted” that she had to miss the celebration after contracting Covid-19.

    Also present at Wimbledon on Sunday were Covid heroes in the NHS and social care, along with refugees from Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria who have settled in Merton and Wandsworth.

    The Champions :Angela Mortimer, Rafael Nadal, Stan Smith, Petra Kvitova, Ann Jones, Andy Murray, Jan Kodes, Margaret Court, Pat Cash, John Newcombe, Conchita Martinez, Chris Evert, Martina Hingis, Bjorn Borg, Leyton Hewitt, Rod Laver, Venus Williams, Marion Bartoli, Billie Jean King, Angelique Kerber, Novak Djokovic, Simona Halep, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg and Roger Federer taking part in the Centre Court 100 Celebrations at The Championships 2022.

    Topics

    Wimbledon  Centre Court  Centenary Celebration Tennis Sports  Europe

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