History of Grand Slams

1877: Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon were founded by the All England Club in 1877 to raise money for the club. The first Championships were contested by 22 men and the winner received a silver guilt cup proclaiming the winner to be "The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World". The following year it was recognised as the official British Championships, although it was open to international competitors. In 1884 the Ladies Singles and Gentlemans Doubles Championships were inaugurated, followed by the Ladies and Mixed Doubles in 1913.

1881: U.S. Open
The U.S. National Men's Singles Championship, now the U.S. Open, was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island.The U.S. National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887. On 21 May 1881, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association) was formed to standardize the rules and organize competitions..

1891: The French Open
Tennis was predominantly a sport of the English-speaking world, dominated by the United States and Britain.It was also popular in France, where the French Open dates to 1891 as the Championat de France International de Tennis.

1905: Australian Open
The Australian Open was first played in 1905 as The Australasian Championships. Because of its geographic remoteness, historically, the event did not gain attendance from the top tennis players consistently. As late as 1980s, the event lacked participating from top ranked tennis professionals. Since its move to Melbourne Park in 1988, the Australian Open has been widely regarded as a Grand Slam.



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