Wimbledon 2022 Day 7 an historical day

Today is the first middle Sunday in Wimbledon's history which saw play. It's no longer a day off!🙂👏👏👏👏👏❤ That's the good news.

Today was also a celebration of 100 years of Centre Court. 

Happy Centenary to Centre Court. 🎾🍸🍸🍸🍸🍾🎆

There was a roll call of past players but not all were present. Most importantly, Virginia Wade was absent and considering she's the past Silver Jubilee winner (1977, the year that also celebrated the centenary of the founding of the Wimbledon Championships with full status granted in 1913) and this year we are celebrating the Platinum Jubilee, I think that is a pity! Wade won 3 Grand Slam singles titles (all GS's except RG) all on grass in those days except RG and 4 Grand Slam doubles (with the exception of Wimbledon) with Margaret Court, and accumulated 55 titles overall reaching world number 2 in 1975. At the age of 37 Wade won the Italian Open with Ruzici, who has been a long-term manager of Halep, but now isn't after 14 years.

It was also an occasion to say goodbye and thank you to Sue Barker who has been the anchor for Wimbledon since 2000 but started as a guest for Today at Wimbledon in 1993. She has had a long career in TV preceeded by a  professional tennis career in which she won the French Open (RG). She holds 15 singles titles in all including RG and 12 doubles titles and reached number 3 in the world in 1977. 

Sue Barker had a great start to her tennis career being signed by IMG by the age of 17, turned professional, and given a house close to Rod Laver in California as part of the deal. Her career initially kicked off when at the age of 10 she was selected to be coached by the previous coach of triple Grand Slam winner (1955 RG singles W doubles; 1958 AO singles; 1961 W singles) Angela Mortimer. By 16, Barker was on the cusp of breaking into the top 20. Four years later she won Roland Garros. During her career she beat all the top players at some point. She won the Brighton International tournament (1981), the only female British player to do so. Wade won the doubles there with Betty Stove in 1978 and Wade was the only British player to win the tournament at Eastbourne (1975). The Brighton tournament sadly no longer exists.😢 I thought it was a sweet tournament. I attended it as a child spectator. Barker played her last tournament in 1984 having turned professional in 1973.

There have been no British women at no 1 in the world in the Open Era!😢

There have been 2 British women at no 1 in the amateur era 1921-1967: Dorothy Round (1934, 1937) and Angela Mortimer (1961).

All British female no 1's pre -1920's and in the amateur era won Wimbledon at least once! We were rocking it!🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🇬🇧 But, better still, there were also British women winning Wimbledon who were not at no 1 in the world. Indeed, British women won Wimbledon continuously from 1884-1904; and then 1908-1914. Or to put it another way, May Sutton (USA) was the only non-UK player to win it (1905, 1907) or be runner-up (1906) at Wimbledon. All other finals were all British with the exception of the Irish players, Lena Rice and Louisa Martin.

After World War I the first British female winner at Wimbledon was Kitty McKane in 1924 and then again in 1926. Followed by Dorothy Round in the 30's (1934, 1937).

After World War II, Wimbledon becomes American dominated until Angela Mortimer wins in 1961, 🇬🇧Ann Jones in 1969 (a successful table tennis player prior to her adult tennis career) 🇬🇧and lastly Virginia Wade 🇬🇧in 1977.

British female no 1's were numerous in the pre-1920's: Blanche Bingley, (tennis career spanned 1884-1913 ending at the age of 49! She was the first woman to win Wimbledon as a mother in 1897); Charlotte Cooper, (5 time Wimbledon champion, first woman to win tennis gold at the Olympics as well as the first woman to be Olympic champion in an individual sport, she competed until she was 50+ and managed all this while being deaf so was unable to hear the ball coming off the opponent's strings! Cooper also won Wimbledon as a mother); Dorothea Douglass (Lambert Chambers, 7 time Wimbledon singles champion, gold at the Olympics, top badminton player) Muriel Robb (won Wimbledon once but died young aged 28) and including: 

Maud Watson 1883-6 (no 1) won Wimbledon in 1884, and 1885, the first female champion of Wimbledon. To defend her title in 1885, Maud Watson had a free ticket to the final because she only had to play the one match which was the final. It was a case of waiting to see who could fight their way to the final to play her. How good is that! Bring that back! 

Lottie Dod 1886-1893 (no 1) except in 1890; won Wimbledon 5 times the first time aged 15. Won a silver at the Olympic Games in archery (1908); won the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championships and co-established a ladies golf club; co-founded the England Women's National Field Hockey team (and hockey club) and was captain of the team and played CF. Lottie also played winter sports competitively (figure skating, curling, toboggan) and climbed 2 mountains. 

But the most interesting gender point that all should ponder in this era of women are too feeble to compete against transwomen is that Lottie Dod took the St. Moritz men's skating test and passed, the second woman to do so!! 

Dod shares the record for the most 'versatile' female athlete of all time! She lived until the age of 88 and passed away listening to Wimbledon on radio.  🎾📻

A fitting way to finish this post. 

As for the tennis today, it was sad to say goodbye to Venus Williams in the mixed doubles and to Heather Watson in the singles. Watson is still in the women's doubles (with Harriet Dart) and playing tomorrow against Ostapenko (with Lyudmyla Kichenok) who lost her singles match today as well. 😢 All round my favourite players lost today.😢 Except Krejcikova and Siniakova who are still in the women's doubles! 🙂 However, I'd love Watson and Dart to win the women's doubles!🎾