Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 12, 2015

The 1877 Wimbledon Championship, the world's first lawn tennis tournament, was held in Wimbledon, London, at the renamed All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. The club had introduced lawn tennis in 1875 to compensate for waning interest in croquet, and was organising a tennis tournament to raise money for lawn maintenance equipment. The tournament rules were derived from the first standardised rules of tennis issued by the Marylebone Cricket Club. The Gentlemen's Singles competition, the only event of the championship, was contested on grass courts by 22 players. The final was played on 19 July, in front of a crowd of about 200 people who paid an entry fee of one shilling. Spencer Gore, a 27-year-old rackets player, became the first Wimbledon champion by defeating William Marshall in three straight sets that lasted 48 minutes. He received 12 guineas in prize money and a silver challenge cup, donated by the sports magazine The Field. The tournament made a profit of £10.