With this year’s rendition of the fabled and prestigious Wimbledon tournament soon scheduled to begin, it is the perfect opportunity for fans to reminisce on which moments of the competitions prosperous history remains as its most discussed and often controversial throughout the UK Grand Slam’s tenure.
For over 130 years, Wimbledon has remained the sight of tennis’ most prestigious tournament and has housed some of the very best athletes to ever compete at the professional level of the sport.
This year will mark the 135 rendition of the tournament with the latest Wimbledon lines already sighting the ever-dangerous Novak Djokovic (-125) to claim his seventh title at Wimbledon, leaving him one behind the all-time leader in Roger Federer.
There has been a multitude of significant performances from singles competitors and teams throughout the withstanding history of the event that have since been engraved within the minds of sports fans for the substantial memories that such moments have provided as well as establishing a number of star athletes into the stratosphere of Grand Slam tournament folklore.
However, there are also other moments that also remain of critical importance towards the tournaments history that may not be so often discussed in the same lighthearted appreciation by tennis fans due to their controversial stature and coincidence.
These are the most controversial moments ever discussed at previous Wimbledon events throughout the tournament’s history, which also features some of the biggest and most recognizable names that tennis has to offer.
- The infamous Greg Rusedski outburst in 2003:
2003 was a pivotal and critical year for tennis as it witnessed the dawning of two of the sports biggest names in Serena Williams and Roger Federer who both claimed the winnings in the men and women singles grand slam tournament.
In spite of this, the 2003 event is also widely remembered for Greg Rusedski’s famous rant directed towards Chair Umpire Lars Graff during a second-round encounter against Andy Roddick.
The then world number two, Rusedski, was often sighted as a mild-mannered individual that was never known for any such outburst, but after an attempt to forfeit a point following from a false call from a member of the crowd regarding Rodderick hitting the ball out of bounds, the referee had never made such a call that sent Rusedski over the limit.
Rusedski let loose with a number of vicious profanities that forced the refs to confirm that the point would not be replayed before the Brit was eventually beaten and fined a relatively small figure of £1,500 for this sudden outburst, with Rusedski expressing his regrets for using such foul language and threats a short while later.
- Boris Becker’s unexpected Championship run:
It would be hard-pressed to not include a name of Becker’s stature on this list as he is often sighted as being a hugely popular figure within the tennis world.
The 1985 Wimbledon tournament remains as one of the most popular events due to Becker’s heroics but also due to the shocking lightning bolt that struck center court during the offset of the event, yet this tournament is forever edged into history because of Boris Becker’s unthinkable passage throughout the tournament enroute to his first of three Wimbledon titles.
At just 17 years of age, the German became the youngest champion of the Wimbledon singles tournament as an unseeded prospect which was captivated by his victory over Kevin Curran in the Finals before winning the title again the following year.
While fans may be familiar with the term ‘Baby-Faced’ athlete tied to the likes of Stephen Curry, Boris Becker is the original ‘Baby-Faced’ star that catapulted himself into Wimbledon folklore.
- Marcus Willis’ unlikely win streak.
The most recent shocking moment throughout the past decade has to be the preposterous win streak of Marcus Willis back at Wimbledon 2017, as the Brit shocked the tennis world with one of the biggest underdog stories during the modern era.
Willis entered Wimbledon at a staggering world ranking of 722 and was a largely unknown pro since his debut a decade prior, there was even a proposal in place for Willis to announce his retirement from the sport before his then-girlfriend would motivate him to give it one last throw at the dice at the upcoming Wimbledon event.
During qualifying, Willis shocked everyone by going on an emphatic six game winning streak to ensure his place at the tournament.
In the first round of the tournament, Willis once again left the world star-struck with a stunning upset win over world number 54 Ricardas Berankis which would set up an enticing encounter against the world’s best Roger Federer himself.
Ultimately Willis fell short to Federer but played admirably in defeat and earned the praise and respect of every attendee at the event that day thanks to his eccentric play style and beloved redemption story.
The 2022 Wimbledon tournament is shaping up to be an unmissable event is sure to provide fans with even more impactful moments that could be forever labelled and edged into the events impactful history.