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Held at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. It was first held in 1877 and the tournament has a total of 133 editions as of 2019.
The 2020 Wimbledon Championships was booked to begin on June 29th but because of the Coronavirus pandemic, it has been canceled with the 134th edition moved to June 28-July 11, 2021.
Because we won’t be seeing our favorite tennis players in the All England Club this year, let’s revisit the history of the Championships and take a look at who were the youngest men and women to win the Wimbledon singles title.
Here are the five youngest men’s singles champion in the history of Wimbledon:
5. Lleyton Hewitt
Hewitt is an Australian baseline specialist who is best remembered for his five-set duels and spectacular come-from-behind wins. the last Aussie to win a Grand Slam tennis title and is also the youngest male tennis player to be ranked #1 in the world, doing so at the age of 20 years, 8 months, and 26 days. Hewitt won a total of 30 singles and 3 doubles titles. He won two grand slams during his peak, capturing the US Open title in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002. He was 20 years and 134 days old when he won at the All-England club.
4. Bjorn Borg
Borg is considered as one of the best tennis players of all-time. The former world #1 was the best tennis player from 1977-80 and he enjoyed meteoric success during a short career than ended at the age of 26 due to burnout. Borg was the first player in the modern era to win 11 grand slam titles. He won six times at the French Open and he won Wimbledon in five consecutive years. His first Wimbledon victory came in 1976 when he was 20 years and 27 days old.
3. Sidney Wood
Sidney Wood was the #1 ranked tennis player in 1931 and 1934 and was a Top 10 player until 1938. He was one of the youngest tennis players to appear in a grand slam as he made his first Wimbledon appearance at the age of 15. He won Wimbledon in 1931at the age of 19 years and 245 days old. He is the only Wimbledon champion who didn’t play in the Finals after his opponent Frank Shields pulled out of the match due to an injury. Although that was the only win of his career, Wood will never be forgotten as one of the youngest players to ever win Wimbledon.
2. Wilfred Baddeley
Wilfred was the older and better tennis player of the Baddeley twins. He made his debut at Wimbledon in 1889 and won four doubles titles with his twin Herbert. He also won the All-England singles title three times in 1891,1892, and 1895. His win over Joshua Pim in 1891 made him the youngest player to win Wimbledon at the age of 19 years and 175 days. That record would stand for 94 years until it was broken in 1985 by the man next on our list.
1. Boris Becker
Boris Becker is the man who broke Wilfred Baddeley’s near-century record as the youngest Wimbledon champion ever. With his ultra-fast serves, the six-time majors winner won the 1985 Wimbledon tennis tournament at the age of 17 years and 228 days, beating American Kevin Curren in a closely fought match. He would go on to successfully defend his title the following year by defeating Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the final. Becker is the only player to win two men’s singles titles at the All-England club before the age of 20.
Now here are the five youngest players to win the women’s singles title at the All-England Club:
5. May Sutton
May Sutton is the first American women’s tennis player to win the singles title at Wimbledon. Sutton won the U.S. Open in 1904 and then continued with her success as she won Wimbledon the following year at the age of 19 years and 285 days. She lost in the 1906 Wimbledon Final but reclaimed her title in 1907. Interestingly, she played against British Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers in all three Wimbledon finals.
4. Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf is a former #1 player who ranks second overall with 22 grand slam titles won. She dominated women’s tennis at the same time compatriot Boris Becker ruled the men’s side of the sport. Graf is the only woman in history to win the “Golden Slam”, that is winning all the grand slams plus the Olympic gold medal during one calendar year. Steffi won her first Wimbledon singles title in 1988 when she defeated Martina Navratilova. Graf was 19 years and 19 days old when she won the title.
3. Maria Sharapova
Sharapova was a five-time world #1 and the first Russian female tennis player to achieve the feat. She is also one of only 10 women and the only Russian to win all Grand Slam tournaments. Sharapova has a total of five grand slam titles. Her first Grand Slam title was a win at Wimbledon in 2004 where she defeated top seed and defending champion Serena Williams. Sharapova was 17 years and 75 days old when she achieved the feat.
2. Martina Hingis
The Swiss Miss was a tennis prodigy who shattered many tennis records during her best years in the 1990s. She was the world #1 singles player for 209 weeks and also ranked as #1 in doubles for 90 weeks, holding both rankings simultaneously for 29 weeks. Hingis won a total of 25 major titles, including 13 singles grand slam wins. She was the youngest player in the WTA to earn the top ranking and in 1997, she captured her first Wimbledon title at the age of 16 years and 278 days. But then again, she’s not the youngest champion in the history of Wimbledon.
1. Lottie Dod
For the youngest Wimbledon champion ever, we go back to the 1800s. British woman Lottie Dod was an athlete who thrived in many sports, not just tennis. Aside from being a five-time winner at Wimbledon, Dod was a silver medalist in Archery at the 1908 Olympics. She was also the British Open Golf champion in 1904 and was a member of the British Field Hockey team in 1899. She is in the Guinness Book of World Records ad the most versatile female athlete ever. Dod won her first Wimbledon title in 1887 at the age of 15 years and 285 days.
