1878 Wimbledon Championship

Tennis tournament

Date

15 – 20 July

Edition

2nd

Category

Grand Slam

Surface

Grass

Location

Worple Road
SW19, Wimbledon,
London, United Kingdom

Venue

All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club

Champions

Singles

Frank Hadow

← 1877 ·

Wimbledon Championship

· 1879 →

The 1878 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from 15 July until 20 July. It was the 2nd staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the first Grand Slam tennis event of 1878. There were 34 competitors, excluding Spencer Gore who as champion was not required to participate until the best of the challengers had won the All comers' final.^[1] The winner of the All Comers' final was Frank Hadow, a planter from Ceylon who was on leave in Britain. He defeated Robert Erskine, a friend of the family who had enticed him to participate in the championship, in straight sets 6–4, 6–4, 6–4.^[2] On 18 July 1878 Hadow defeated reigning champion Spencer Gore in three sets, 7–5, 6–1, 9–7 before a crowd of about 700 spectators.^[3]^[4] Hadow effectively introduced the tactic of lobbing to counter Gore's volleying game.^[2]^[5]

The height of the net was reduced from 5 feet (1.5 m) at the posts and 3 feet 3 inches (0.99 m) in the middle to 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 m) at the posts and 3 feet (0.91 m) in the middle.^[1] The distance of the service line from the net was reduced from 26 feet (7.9 m) to 22 feet (6.7 m). Arthur Myers was the first player to serve over hand.^[6]

Gentlemen's singles

Final

Frank Hadow defeated Spencer Gore, 7–5, 6–1, 9–7 ^[7]

This was Hadow's first and only Major.

All Comers' Final

Frank Hadow defeated Robert Erskine, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 ^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c 100 Years of Wimbledon, by Lance Tingay (Guinness Superlatives Ltd. 1977)
^ ^a ^b Robertson, Max (1987). Wimbledon : Centre Court of the Game : Final Verdict (3rd ed.). London: British Broadcasting Corporation. p. 12. ISBN 9780563204541.
^ Atkin, Ron. "1877 Wimbledon Championships". Wimbledon.org. Archived from the original on 21 December 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
^ "Lawn Tennis Championship". The Morning Post. British Newspaper Archive. 19 July 1878. p. 6.
^ Reeves, Peter; Rai, Rajesh, eds. (2013). The Encyclopedia of Sri Lankan Diaspora. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet. p. 44. ISBN 978-9814260831.
^ Little, Alan (2001). 2010 Wimbledon Compendium. Wimbledon, London: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. p. 10. ISBN 1899039333.
^ "Gentlemen's Singles Finals 1877-2016". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 29 June 2017.