Wimbledon 2025: Anniversaries for Serena Williams, Arthur Ashe, Isner-Mahut, and COVID

Al Arabiya

a day ago

A look at some of the anniversaries this year at Wimbledon:
50 years ago (1975): Arthur Ashe became the first – and to this day only – Black man to win the singles title at Wimbledon in 1975, beating defending champion Jimmy Connors 6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4 in the final. Also that year, Billie Jean King easily won her sixth – and it turned out last – singles championship at the All England Club, defeating Evonne Goolagong 6–0, 6–1. It also was the 19th of the 20 total Wimbledon trophies (across singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles) that King would win.
45 years ago (1980): Bjorn Borg earned his fifth consecutive Wimbledon trophy in 1980, barely getting past rival John McEnroe 1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7 (16), 8–6 in a final immediately – and still – considered one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. The fourth-set tiebreaker alone, known as 'The War of 18-16,' is still discussed with reverence.
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40 years ago (1985): Anne White showed up for her first-round Wimbledon match in 1985 against Pam Shriver wearing a full white bodysuit that drew plenty of attention – and criticism. After they split the first two sets, play was called because of darkness. During the break, White was told that the All England Club did not love her original outfit, even if it did comply with the all-white rule, and she wound up wearing more traditional clothing for the third set when action resumed the next day. Shriver won the match.
35 years ago (1990): A 6–4, 6–1 victory over Zina Garrison in the 1990 final gave Martina Navratilova her record ninth Wimbledon championship. It also was her 18th and last Grand Slam title, equaling rival Chris Evert for the Open era record at the time.
25 years ago (2000): Pete Sampras' 2000 Wimbledon title via a 6–7 (10), 7–6 (5), 6–4, 6–2 victory over Patrick Rafter in the final gave the American his seventh and last trophy at the All England Club and his then-record 13th title from all Grand Slam tournaments. Sampras would win his 14th major at the 2002 US Open, then walk away from the sport. That stood as the men's record until Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all surpassed it.
15 years ago (2010): John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played the longest tennis match on record at Wimbledon in 2010, competing for 11 hours 5 minutes stretched across three days in the first round at the All England Club until Isner eventually prevailed 70–68 in the fifth set. That was part of the impetus for rules changes that eventually mandated tiebreakers at 6–all in fifth sets of men's matches (and third sets of women's matches) at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
10 years ago (2015): Serena Williams completed her second self-styled 'Serena Slam' – four Grand Slam titles in a row, although not all within a single season – by winning Wimbledon in 2015. Her 6–4, 6–4 victory over Garbiñe Muguruza in the final made the 33-year-old Williams the oldest woman to win a major singles championship in the Open era. It also set up Williams for a bid at a true Grand Slam – going 4 for 4 at the majors within one calendar year – at the US Open later in 2015. She fell just short, losing to Roberta Vinci in a stunning upset in the semifinals in New York.
5 years ago (2020): Wimbledon was called off in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first time since World War II that the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament wasn't held. The cancellation was announced in April with Britain under a nationwide lockdown. Roger Federer offered a one-word commentary on social media, writing simply: 'Devastated.'