A Visual Retrospective of the First Wimbledon Matches For Today’s Tennis Champions
This year, Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff became the youngest-ever player to qualify for Wimbledon, at just 15. What’s more, she made it all the way to the fourth round, vanquishing one her heroes, Venus Williams, in her first match of the tournament. It’s an impressive feat, no doubt—and one that has many predicting that Gauff will emerge the greatest of her generation. But looking back, many of the pros we idolize today—including Venus, Serena, Andy Roddick and Arthur Ashe—were also practically kids when they first stepped foot on the storied courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Here, a look back at the Wimbledon debuts of the sport’s great champs.
1Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon 2003
Rafael Nadal, age 17, during his first Wimbledon competition on June 27, 2003 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, in London. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
2Serena Williams, Wimbledon 1998
Serena Williams, age 17, during her first Wimbledon competition during July, 1998, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, in London. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
3Venus Williams, Wimbledon 1997
Venus Williams, age 17, during her first Wimbledon competition during July of 1997, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, in London. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
4Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon 2005
Novak Djokovic, age 18, at his first Wimbledon competition in London on 25 June, 2005. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
5Lindsay Davenport, Wimbledon 1994
Lindsay Davenport, age 18, competing in her first Wimbledon in June of 1994. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
6Maria Sharapova, Wimbledon 2003
Maria Sharapova, age 16, at her first Wimbledon competition in London on June 26, 2003. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
7Roger Federer, Wimbledon 1999
Roger Federer, age 18, at his first Wimbledon in London, England, July 1999. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
8Althea Gibson, Wimbledon 1950
Althea Gibson was the first black woman to compete in Wimbledon in 1950, at age 23. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
9Arthur Ashe, Wimbledon 1959
Arthur Ashe competed in his first Wimbledon at age 16, in 1959. He’s pictured here at age 25, competing in the 1968 Wimbledon competition. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
10Steffi Graf, Wimbledon 1984
Steffi Graf competed in her first Wimbledon tournament in 1984 at age 16. She’s pictured here in July of 1987 at age 18. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
11Pete Sampras, Wimbledon 1988
Pete Sampras competed at his first Wimbledon match in 1988, at age 17. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
12Andy Roddick, Wimbledon 2001
Andy Roddick, age 19, at his first Wimbledon tournament in London on June 26th, 2001. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
13Cori Gauff, Wimbledon 2019
Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff became the youngest player to qualify at Wimbledon at 15 years old in 2019. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
