More Fun Facts

In Lawn & War

Wimbledon's official name is "The Lawn Tennis Championships." The games occur at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which even managed to stay open during World War II, despite a severe staff shrinkage. During that time, the premises hosted civil defense and military functions, such as fire and ambulance services, Home Guard and a decontamination unit.

They Still Don't Call It "The Super Ball"

In 1988, The Australian Open became the first tournament to host a retractable stadium. The venue -- in Melbourne -- has a 15,000-seat capacity. Then known as Centre Court, it was re-christened in 2000 as Rod Laver Arena.

Tennis on the Big -- and Small -- Screen

Before Roddick and Kournikova set Hollywood abuzz, Tinseltown's takes on tennis have included:

• 1951's Hard, Fast and Beautiful cast Claire Trevor and Sally Forrest in the story of a dominant mother who pushes her gifted daughter to be the best tennis player in the world.
• The Oscar-winning Pat & Mike (1952) stars Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in a comedy about a sensational female athlete managed by a hard-nosed sports promoter.
• The 1978 TV movie Little Mo features Glynnis O'Connor, Michael Learned, Anne Baxter and Leslie Nielsen in the true story of teenage tennis star Maureen Connolly's battle with cancer.
• The sexy Players (1979) has Dean Paul Martin as a tennis pro who falls for two women -- including Ali MacGraw -- as he must choose between them while playing at Wimbledon.
• Bjorn Borg makes a cameo in Racquet (also in '79), about a Beverly Hills tennis pro.
• Before Mariska Hargitay was a "Law & Order: SVU" detective, she was in 1987's Jocks in a ragtag college tennis team bound for a Las Vegas tournament.
• Chad Lowe and Gail O'Grady are in 1989's Nobody's Perfect, the story of college tennis teammates falling in love, and the fallout from it.
• Martin Sheen now commandeers "The West Wing," but in 1995, he headlined The Break co-starring Vincent Van Patten as a banned tennis pro who must coach a teen to erase a gambling debt. Van Patten, a former tennis pro, also co-wrote the script.
• Tennis as episodic television has been limited to the 1993-94 sitcom Phenom, which followed the escapades of a teen tennis star living with her single mom (Judith Light) as they deal with life's challenges, and her coach (William Devane).