Wimbledon in Numbers: Statistics and Records
Last updated: Jun 27, 2019, 6:00AM | Published: Jun 26, 2019, 5:50AM
If you’re a tennis fan, you are probably aware of a little tournament called "Wimbledon."
Considering it is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and, arguably the most prestigious Grand Slam tournament on the tennis calendar, there is always something new to learn about Wimbledon.
You know what they say: "a casual fan knows about the sport, but a real fan knows what the casual fans don’t."
Okay, maybe nobody has ever really said that, but perhaps someone should have.
Modern day great, Roger Federer has won the most Wimbledon Men’s Singles titles (8), while Czech superstar, Martina Navratilova, has the most Wimbledon Ladies' Singles titles (9), but you already know that, don’t you?
So, let’s just move past these easy ones and get into the really interesting stats and records which will help you flex your new-found brainpower to your buddies.
MOST ACES IN A SINGLE WIMBLEDON TOURNAMENT
John Isner (USA), 2018
Standing over 6 feet, 8 inches tall, the big American served down 214 aces in 2018. 53 of these aces came during his Semi-Final loss to Kevin Anderson who also happened to serve 49 aces in that match. He also holds the record for the most aces in a single match at Wimbledon when he put 113 aces past Nicolas Mahut in 2010.
Serena Williams (USA) 2012
Another American, Serena Williams, served 102 aces as she went on to lift the title beating Agnieszka Radwanska in the Ladies' Final.
LONGEST WIMBLEDON MATCH
In 2010, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played one match over three days, lasting 11 hours and 5 minutes, of which 491 minutes (8 hours, 11 minutes) was the final set. This match was 1 hour 38 minutes longer than the previous longest match in tennis history.
A total of 980 points were played during this match, with Mahut winning 502 and Isner winning 478. To put this into perspective, Serena Williams won 789 total points over seven rounds to win the Ladies’ Singles that year.
MOST WINS ON GRASS COURT
Men:
Expectedly, Roger Federer leads the way with 181 wins on Grass Court, followed by Jimmy Connors. Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt appears at number four with 129 career wins and the original 'bad boy of tennis' John McEnroe is tied at 6th with Phil Dent and Stan Smith.
Rank | Name | Number of Wins |
1 | Roger Federer | 181 |
2 | Jimmy Connors | 170 |
3 | John Newcombe | 137 |
4 | Lleyton Hewitt | 129 |
5 | Ken Rosewall | 122 |
6 | John McEnroe | 121 |
6 | Phil Dent | 121 |
6 | Stan Smith | 121 |
9 | Boris Becker | 116 |
10 | Roscoe Tanner | 115 |
10 | Tony Roche | 115 |
Women:
Martina Navratilova was world number one for a total of 332 weeks in singles tennis and a huge part of it was thanks to her incredible 308 wins on the grass court. Chris Evert at 185 wins and Pam Shriver at 182 wins are a distant second and third on the table, with the Williams sisters completing the Top-10.
Rank | Name | Number of Wins |
1 | Martina Navratilova | 308 |
2 | Chris Evert | 185 |
3 | Pam Shriver | 182 |
4 | Helena Suková | 147 |
5 | Zina Garrison | 144 |
6 | Nathalie Tauziat | 133 |
7 | Rosalyn Nideffer | 131 |
8 | Lori McNeil | 126 |
9 | Serena Williams | 101 |
10 | Venus Williams | 96 |
BEST WIN PERCENTAGE AT WIMBLEDON
Men:
Bjorn Borg, with a 92.73% win percentage at Wimbledon, tops the chart, with Pete Sampras (90%), Roger Federer (88.79%), Rod Laver (88%) and Novak Djokovic (86.67%) completing the Top 5. Rafael Nadal ranks 11th with a 81.36% win record.
Rank | Name | Played | Won | Lost | Win Percentage |
1 | Bjorn Borg | 55 | 51 | 4 | 92.73% |
2 | Pete Sampras | 70 | 63 | 7 | 90.00% |
3 | Roger Federer | 107 | 95 | 12 | 88.79% |
4 | Rod Laver | 25 | 22 | 3 | 88.00% |
5 | Novak Djokovic | 75 | 65 | 10 | 86.67% |
6 | John Newcombe | 37 | 32 | 5 | 86.49% |
7 | Boris Becker | 83 | 71 | 12 | 85.54% |
8 | Andy Murray | 67 | 57 | 10 | 85.07% |
9 | John McEnroe | 71 | 59 | 12 | 83.10% |
10 | Jimmy Connors | 102 | 84 | 18 | 82.35% |
*Minimum of 20 wins
Women:
Although Martina Navratilova has won the most matches (121) at Wimbledon, Steffi Graf -with 74 wins out of 81 matches - has the best win percentage at 91.35%. Should Serena Williams win five matches at Wimbledon 2019, she’d jump into the second spot for both most wins at Wimbledon, and also win percentage at Wimbledon.
Rank | Name | Played | Won | Lost | Win Percentage |
1 | Steffi Graf | 81 | 74 | 7 | 91.35% |
2 | Martina Navratilova | 135 | 121 | 14 | 89.63% |
3 | Serena Williams | 103 | 92 | 11 | 89.32% |
4 | Chris Evert | 111 | 96 | 15 | 86.23% |
5 | Venus Williams | 105 | 89 | 16 | 84.76% |
6 | Evonne Goolagong | 48 | 40 | 8 | 83.33% |
7 | Billie Jean King | 36 | 30 | 6 | 83.33% |
8 | Lindsay Davenport | 61 | 49 | 12 | 80.32% |
9 | Jana Novotná | 63 | 50 | 13 | 79.36% |
10 | Maria Sharapova | 59 | 46 | 13 | 77.97% |
*Minimum of 40 wins
Since 2003…
No player outside the traditional ‘Big Four’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic has won the Wimbledon Men’s Singles title since 2003. The last player to do so was Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, defeating Argentina's David Nalbandian in straight sets.
Also, only six times has anyone outside of the ‘Big Four’ made the Wimbledon Men's Singles Final since 2003, with Andy Roddick being responsible for three of the six. He is also the only player to win a set against one of the ‘Big Four’ in a Wimbledon Final.
ALSO READ: Stats Insider's World Rankings for Tennis
There are plenty of things to look forward to this Wimbledon.
Can Roger Federer equal Navratilova’s record nine single’s titles?
Will Novak Djokovic defend his title?
Will the Barty Party continue in London?
We'll know the answers by the 14th of July.
Did you enjoy this article? Leave a comment below, or join the conversation on the Stats Insider Twitter or Facebook page.
