North Wales Memories: Major Walter Wingfield, the inventor of lawn tennis

By Sarah Griffiths on Jun 22, 09 08:32 AM in 1800-1899

As Wimbledon fortnight gets underway, it is probably worth remembering that this very English pursuit actually originated in North Wales.

Major Walter Wingfield was a resident of Nantclwyd Hall, which is about six miles south of Ruthin in Denbighshire (pictured). He invented the game of lawn tennis in his garden when he tried out a new type of India rubber ball which could be bounced on grass. The enjoyment he derived from this novel pastime led to the formulation of some standard rules which he published as The First Set of Lawn Tennis Rules in the same year.

He called the game sphairistaike and registered a patent for the combined equipment of net, posts, balls and racquets in 1874. He combined the necessary equipment as a kit and sold it along with the rulebook as a game suitable for Victorian gardens.

This new innovation was immediately successful and led to the establishment of the first Wimbledon tournament in 1877. The Lawn Tennis Association was formed in 1888 and Wingfield was able to publish two tennis books, The Major's Game of Lawn Tennis and The Book of the Game, to capitalise on the game's popularity.

In recognition of Major Walter Wingfield's historical contribution to the game of lawn tennis, this Denbighshire resident was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1997.

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