INTRODUCTION
This page looks at the Wimbledon tennis tournament in the Open era which began in 1968.
Charts
1. Country of birth of Men’s Wimbledon Winners 1968 – 2019
2. Average Height of Men’s Wimbledon Semi-Finalists by Year 1968 – 2019
3. Wimbledon Champions by Percentage of Games Won During Tournament
Data Table
4. Men’s Wimbledon Champions 1968 – 2018 by Nationality, Height and Percentage of Games and Sets Won
For most of history, professional tennis has been almost exclusively played in rich western countries. Being the largest western country by far, the USA has expectedly produced the most Wimbledon winners with 15, with Pete Sampras being the most successful American at Wimbledon with 7 titles. The next country is Switzerland with 8. These have been won entirely by a single player, Roger Federer. Sweden is next with 7 titles – 5 by Björn Borg and 2 by Stefan Edberg. Eastern European players have been coming into the game at a high level from the 80s onwards with Ivan Lendl and Novak Djokovic being the most prominent. Djokovic, from Serbia, has 4 titles while Lendl never won Wimbledon.
Swiss player Roger Federer has won Wimbledon a record 8 times.
Photo by Robbie Dale
Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
The graph looks at the average height of the 4 Wimbledon semi-finalists each year in the Open era from 1968 – 2019.
Prior to 1986, the average height of the 4 Wimbledon semi-finalists was always under 184 cm. When the 191 cm tall Boris Becker won in 1985, this marked the beginning of an era of dominance by tall players. Between 1986 and 1998, the average height of the 4 semi-finalists was always over 184 cm, usually over 187 cm and often over 190 cm. And between 1985 and 2001, 4 different players taller than 190 cm won the Wimbledon title with the 196 cm tall Richard Krajicek being the tallest ever Wimbledon winner in 1996.
From the end of the 90s to the late 00s, relatively shorter players dominated Wimbledon. This shift occurred even though the actual titles in these periods tended to be won by two 185 cm tall players, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. The graph would seem to indicate that Sampras was generally facing and beating taller players than himself in the latter stages while Federer was usually facing opponents of similar of shorter stature than himself.
Recently however, things have changed and dominance of tall players has returned. Although, there’s only been 1 champion over 190 cm tall (Andy Murray) in the last 10 years, the average of the 4 semi-finalists has become even taller than in period from the mid 80s to late 90s.
German player Boris Becker won Wimbledon 3 times. He first won in 1986, a year which marked the beginning of an era of tall statured players dominating the event.
Photo by James Marvin Phelps
Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
This chart shows the highest percentage of games won during a men’s Wimbledon tournament by the eventual champion. The statistic reflects how dominant a player was across the entire tournament, rather than just whether they won matches.
John McEnroe’s 1984 performance stands out as the most dominant in Wimbledon history by this measure. During that tournament he won roughly 68% of all games played, reflecting his exceptional form that year. McEnroe’s serve-and-volley style was particularly effective on grass courts, and 1984 is widely considered the peak season of his career.
Arthur Ashe’s 1975 victory also ranks highly. His win is especially notable because he defeated the heavily favoured Jimmy Connors in the final using a carefully planned tactical approach rather than relying purely on power.
Roger Federer appears several times on the list, reflecting his long period of dominance at Wimbledon in the 2000s and early 2010s. His performances in 2004, 2006, and 2012 were particularly commanding, combining powerful serving with exceptional movement on grass.