Why is Wimbledon called SW19? The 5 nicknames for British Grand Slam explained

Wimbledon is finally upon us and tennis fans may hear a host of nicknames to describe the tournament over the next two weeks. And the best ones are almost as firmly established as the event itself.

Wimbledon began in 1877 as 22 men competed for silverware. The tournament has come a long way since then, with Roger Federer winning a record eight men's singles titles and Martina Navratilova leading the way in the ladies' singles after ending her career with nine victories. Novak Djokovic could equal Federer's record with a win this year after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the 2023 and 2024 finals. And Aryna Sabalenka will be eyeing up the ladies' title after recently enjoying a holiday in Mykonos with her boyfriend. Express Sport runs through a handful of nicknames that may frequently pop in the coming days.

The Championships

The Championships is perhaps the nickname most commonly used to describe Wimbledon.

The event retains the label due to its significance as the oldest and one of the most prestigious tournaments on the tennis calendar.

Fans will often hear the term when tuning into television coverage of Wimbledon or reading about it in newspapers.

The All England Club

The All England Club is a shortened version of the name of the Wimbledon venue, which is called The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club in full.

The All England Club was originally located on Worple Road but moved to its current location on Church Road in 1922.

And ahead of the 2012 edition of Wimbledon, Andy Murray namedropped the venue as he wrote in a column: "We started training at the All England Club on Friday - I hit with Lleyton Hewitt."

SW19

SW19 is the first part of the postcode attached to The All England Club, with the full postcode reading SW19 5AE. And the term is habitually used as an informal way to describe the tournament.

Fans can instantly picture the lush grass courts of Wimbledon as soon as they hear SW19 being talked about, and it's enough to drum up excitement among the sport's many fans.

The fortnight

The fortnight is a nostalgic way to describe Wimbledon and is used because the tournament lasts for two weeks.

Wimbledon chiefs have resisted the temptation to mirror the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open and get the tournament underway on a Sunday, with the first day of action coming on the Monday. The men's final then takes place on the final day of action 13 days later.

Wimby

Wimby is a very informal nickname used by many fans on social media. It rolls off the tongue and is easy to write during online interactions where time-saving endeavours are par for the course.