1969 Wimbledon Championships

The 1969 Wimbledon Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was played on outdoor grass courts. It was the second edition of the Wimbledon Championships in the Open Era and the 83rd since its formation. It was held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon, London from Monday 23 June until Saturday 5 July 1969. Ann Jones became the first British champion of the open era, the first victor since 1961; Britain would have to wait 8 years, until the 1977 tournament to see another British winner in the singles competition – Virginia Wade. Rod Laver won the men's singles title, his fourth Wimbledon crown after 1961, 1962 and 1968, and went on to win his second Grand Slam after 1962.^[1][2]

1969 Wimbledon Championships
Date	23 June – 5 July
Edition	83rd
Category	Grand Slam
Prize money	£33,370
Surface	Grass
Location	Church Road SW19, Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom
Venue	All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
Champions
Men's singles
Rod Laver
Women's singles
Ann Jones
Men's doubles
John Newcombe / Tony Roche
Women's doubles
Margaret Court / Judy Tegart
Mixed doubles
Fred Stolle / Ann Jones
Boys' singles
Byron Bertram
Girls' singles
Kazuko Sawamatsu

41-year-old Pancho Gonzales beat Charlie Pasarell in a first-round men's singles match by a score of 22–24, 1–6, 16–14, 6–3, 11–9.^[3] At 112 games and 5 hours 20 minutes it was by far the longest match of the time.^[4] The match led to the introduction of the tiebreak in tennis.^[5] The 112-game record lasted 41 years until the Isner–Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships.

Prize money

The total prize money for 1969 championships was £33,370. The winner of the men's title earned £3,000 while the women's singles champion earned £1.500.^[6]

Event	W	F	SF	QF	Round of 16	Round of 32	Round of 64	Round of 128
Men's singles	£3,000	£1,500	£800	£450	£175	£125	£80	£50
Women's singles	£1,500	£750	£350	£200	£125	£90	£70	£50
Men's doubles *	£1,000	£600	£400	£200	£0	£0	£0	—
Women's doubles*	£600	£400	£200	£100	£0	£0	£0	—
Mixed doubles*	£500	£350	£175	£100	£0	£0	£0	£0

_{* per team}

Champions

Seniors

Men's singles

Main article: 1969 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles

Rod Laver defeated John Newcombe, 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 ^[7]

Women's singles

Main article: 1969 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles

Ann Jones defeated Billie Jean King, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 ^[8]

Men's doubles

Main article: 1969 Wimbledon Championships – Men's doubles

John Newcombe / Tony Roche defeated Tom Okker / Marty Riessen, 7–5, 11–9, 6–3 ^[9]

Women's doubles

Main article: 1969 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles

Margaret Court / Judy Tegart defeated Patti Hogan / Peggy Michel, 9–7, 6–2 ^[10]

Mixed doubles

Main article: 1969 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed doubles

Fred Stolle / Ann Jones defeated Tony Roche / Judy Tegart, 6–2, 6–3 ^[11]

Juniors

Boys' singles

Main article: 1969 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' singles

Byron Bertram defeated John Alexander, 7–5, 5–7, 6–4 ^[12]

Girls' singles

Main article: 1969 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' singles

Kazuko Sawamatsu defeated Brenda Kirk, 6–1, 1–6, 7–5 ^[13]

Singles seeds

Men's singles Rod Laver (champion) Tony Roche (semifinals, lost to John Newcombe) Tom Okker (quarterfinals, lost to John Newcombe) Ken Rosewall (third round, lost to Bob Lutz) Arthur Ashe (semifinals, lost to Rod Laver) John Newcombe (final, lost to Rod Laver) Clark Graebner (third round, lost to Bob Hewitt) Cliff Drysdale (quarterfinals, lost to Rod Laver) Roy Emerson (fourth round, lost to Cliff Drysdale) Andrés Gimeno (fourth round, lost to Clark Graebner) Fred Stolle (fourth round, lost to John Newcombe) Pancho Gonzales (fourth round, lost to Arthur Ashe) Ray Moore (first round, lost to John Alexander) Bob Hewitt (first round, lost to Cliff Richey) Dennis Ralston (fourth round, lost to Tony Roche) Stan Smith (first round, lost to Allan Stone)

Women's singles Margaret Court (semifinals, lost to Ann Jones) Billie Jean King (final, lost to Ann Jones) Virginia Wade (third round, lost to Pat Walkden) Ann Jones (champion) Nancy Richey (quarterfinals, lost to Ann Jones) Kerry Melville (second round, lost to Rosemary Casals) Julie Heldman (quarterfinals, lost to Margaret Court) Judy Tegart (quarterfinals, lost to Billie Jean King)