Wimbledon has historically been played in the last week of June and the first week of July (though changed to the first two weeks of July in 2017), and has been chronologically the third of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the tennis season since 1987. The event was not held from 1915 to 1918 because of World War I and again from 1940 to 1945 because of World War II. The tournament was also not contested in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ladies' singles' rules have undergone several changes since the first edition. From 1886 until 1921, the event started with a knockout phase, the all comers' singles, whose winner then faced the defending champion in a challenge round. The all comers' winner was automatically awarded the title eleven times (1889, 1890, 1891, 1894, 1895, 1898, 1903, 1908, 1909, 1912, 1913) in the absence of the previous year's champion. The challenge round system was abolished with the 1922 edition. Since the first championships, all matches have been played at the best-of-three sets. Between 1877 and 1883, the winner of the next game at five games-all took the set in every match except the all comers' final, and the challenge round, which were won with six games and a two games advantage. All sets were decided in two-game advantage format from 1884 to 1970. The lingering death best-of-12 points tie-break was introduced in 1971 for the first two sets, played at eight games-all until 1978 and at six games-all since 1979.
The ladies' singles champion receives a sterling silver salver commonly known as the "Venus Rosewater Dish", or simply the "Rosewater Dish". The salver, which is 18.75 inches (about 48 cm) in diameter, is decorated with figures from mythology. New singles champions are traditionally elected honorary members of the AELTC by the club's committee. In 2012, the ladies' singles winner received prize money of £1,150,000.
In the Amateur–challenge round era, Dorothea Lambert Chambers (1903–1904, 1906, 1910–1911, 1913–1914) holds the record for most titles, with seven. However, it's noteworthy that three of Chambers' titles were won in the challenge round. Lottie Dod (1891–1893) and Suzanne Lenglen (1919–1921) hold the record for most consecutive wins in the ladies' singles with three victories each. The record for most wins and most consecutive wins post-challenge round in the Amateur Era, belongs to Helen Wills Moody (1927–1930, 1932–1933, 1935, 1938) with eight, including four straight victories (1927–1930).
In the Open Era, since the inclusion of the professional tennis players, Martina Navratilova (1978–1979, 1982–1987, 1990) holds the record for most victories with nine. Navratilova holds the record for most consecutive victories with six (1982–1987).
Lottie Dod was a five-time champion and is the youngest ever winner of the ladies' singles championships (15 years and 285 days).Charlotte Cooper Sterry was a five-time champion and is the oldest ladies' singles champion (37 year and 282 days).Dorothea Lambert Chambers was a seven-time champion over a twelve-year period from 1903 to 1914.Suzanne Lenglen was a six-time champion.Helen Wills Moody was an eight-time champion between 1927 and 1938.Maureen Connolly competed in 1952, 1953 and 1954 and won the title on all three occasions.Althea Gibson won the title in 1957, the first black tennis player to do so, and successfully defended her title in 1958.
Billie Jean King is a six-time champion.Martina Navratilova is a nine-time singles champion, a Grand Slam record in the Open Era for women (Margaret Court won the Australian 11 times). She won six consecutive titles from 1982 to 1987.Steffi Graf is a seven-time champion over a nine-year period from 1988 to 1996.Serena Williams is a seven-time champion.Venus Williams is a five-time champion over a nine-year period from 2000 to 2008.Petra Kvitová is a two-time champion, and created a first in 2011, when she became the first player, male or female, born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam tournament title.
