Centre Court 100: A look at some of the quirkiest moments

The Centre Court at Wimbledon has stood witness to some of the most spellbinding moments, history-setting battles and unrivalled show of individual skills in tennis. But over its 100 years of existence at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London’s Church Road, it has also had its fair share of unconventional and bizarre incidents. As Wimbledon celebrates its most adorned court’s century milestone in this edition, we look back at some of the quirkiest ones:

When Centre Court was bombed

The World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, had brought the sporting world to a halt, and Wimbledon also wasn’t spared. According to the tournament website, “more than 1,000 bombs fell on the borough of Wimbledon, destroying almost 14,000 homes” during the war. A bomb also struck the Centre Court on October 11, 1940, damaging one corner of the competitors’ stand. Even though the tournament was hosted again after a six-year gap in 1946, the damage caused to the structure was not completely repaired until 1947. As a result, the 1946 edition—for which players from 23 countries touched down—was played in front of 1,200 fewer seats on the Centre Court.

Lenglen keeps the Queen waiting

The story goes that Suzanne Lenglen’s popularity in the early 1920s was one of the reasons for the relocation of Centre Court to a much bigger location. However, the 1926 edition saw the charismatic Frenchwoman’s journey at Wimbledon halt rather abruptly and controversially. There are different versions to how the sequence of events unfolded, but it undoubtedly involved Lenglen, Queen Mary and a delay. Wimbledon’s website states that due to a scheduling mix-up and miscommunication, Lenglen arrived late for her second-round singles match and thereby kept the Queen waiting in the Centre Court stand for an hour. The next day, the star player was booed by the British spectators, forcing her to pull out of the tournament. In an article, the WTA describes it differently. It says “Lenglen fainted, claimed she had a cold and withdrew from the tournament” after realising that she had made the Queen wait. Whatever the true tale, it was the last time Lenglen would compete at Wimbledon.

Streaking across the court

Wimbledon stands out for its strict dress code policy. A 23-year-old student, however, threw that out of the window in the 1996 men’s singles final. Working with the club’s catering staff for her summer holidays, Melissa Johnson streaked across the Centre Court wearing just an apron even as the finalists, Richard Krajicek and Malivai Washington, were posing for the customary picture at the start. Johnson also let go of the apron during her run while flashing a wide smile, forcing a giggle out of not just the two players and thousands of spectators in the stands but also from members of the royal box. Washington jokingly blamed the unexpected guest appearance for his defeat. “She lifted up the apron and she was smiling at me. I got flustered and three sets later I was gone. That was pretty funny,” he said.

(Bowing) Out with the tradition

Wimbledon is a tournament seeped into tradition, and some have transcended centuries and generations—the all-whites, the strawberries and cream, spectators queuing and camping for tickets days before the tournament, to name a few. The most prominent Centre Court ritual to no longer exist is that of players bowing toward the royal box while on court. It ended in 2003 after the Duke of Kent, the patron of All England Club, felt the gesture no longer blended with the modern game. Players would often practice the act, and Martina Navratilova once said it was more difficult for her to pull off the curtsying than playing the match itself. The tradition did return briefly in 2010, when Queen Elizabeth II made her first appearance at Centre Court since 1977 for a match between home favourite Andy Murray and Jarkko Nieminen.