For the 125th anniversary of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club, Fila have released the Alpha 125 shoe. The new Wimbledon shoe has been designed to combine both comfort and performance.

Built around an accommodating, yet performance-orientated last, the Alpha aims to provide great fit and feel from the very first wear. The synthetic leather upper is composed of ultra fine fibres that allow the foot to breathe in all conditions, whilst the Dri-Lex Climate Lining: to rapidly diffuse perspiration away from skin.

“125” is stitched towards the rear of the shoe and there is a special “125th Championships” logo on the tongue.

The Alfa is designed to last, using abrasion-resistant and moisture-managing materials to endure even the most aggressive play. The toe wrap is coated with a “liquid ceramic” material which lasts up to 8 times longer than traditional synthetics in high abrasion areas. This extends to the midfoot for added durability.

You can buy them online on Wimbledon official shop.

Second part of my Wimbledon guided tour recap.

Millenium Building

Built on the site of the former Number One Court, it houses the players’ and members’ facilities. It is also used in part by print journalists as an international press centre.

Interview rooms:

Read the rest of this entry →

Right after his semifinal win against Tsonga at the 2010 Australian Open, Federer had joked that Britain had been searching for a male Grand Slam champion for about 150,000 years. In fact it’s “only” 75 years: Fred Perry was the last to win a Slam in 1936 (he won Wimbledon and US Open that year).

Fred Perry statue at Wimbledon:

The last British woman to win a Slam is Virginia Wade: Wimbledon in 1977. Not only was 1977 the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Wimbledon Championships, but it was also the 25th year of the reign (the Silver Jubilee) of Queen Elizabeth II.

Virginia Wade was born July 10, 1945 in Bournemouth, England, where her father was vicar of Holy Trinity Church. The family moved to South Africa in 1946, before Virginia was 1. After finding a racquet while cleaning out a closet at age 9, she played tennis “every single minute I wasn’t obliged to do something else.”
When Virginia was 15 the family moved back to England. By age 16 Virginia was considered the most promising junior player in England, and she qualified to play in the Championships at Wimbledon. She continued to play at Wimbledon every year through 1987–26 years in all.
Virginia won 55 pro singles titles, including 3 Grand Slam tourneys (1968 US Open, 1972 Australian Open, 1977 Wimbledon).
Read the rest of this entry →

This was the moment when the Wimbledon baton was passed from me to him

From Sampras‘ autobiography ” A champion’s mind”:

” I got a great draw at Wimbledon. I had, in successive matches, Francisco Clavet, a clay courter, Barry Cowan, a British long shot in through a wild card, and Sargis Sargsian. Beating those guys brought me up against a young Swiss guy I’d already heard good things about, Roger Federer.
From what I’d been told, he was very talented, but he ran a little hot and cold. I expected to win, but very early in the match I realized that I was up against a kid with a complete game and talent to burn.”
Read the rest of this entry →