<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Wimbledon Championship </Td> <Td> 1878 → </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Wimbledon Championship </Td> <Td> 1878 → </Td> </Tr> <P> The 1877 Wimbledon Championship was a men's tennis tournament held at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (AEC & LTC) in Wimbledon, London . It was the world's first official lawn tennis tournament, and was later recognised as the first Grand Slam tournament or "Major". The AEC & LTC had been founded in July 1868, as the All England Croquet Club; lawn tennis was introduced in February 1875 to compensate for the waning interest in croquet . In June 1877 the club decided to organise a tennis tournament to pay for the repair of its pony roller, needed to maintain the lawns . A set of rules was drawn up for the tournament, derived from the first standardised rules of tennis issued by the Marylebone Cricket Club in May 1875 . </P> <P> The Gentlemen's Singles competition, the only event of the championship, was contested on grass courts by 22 players who each paid one guinea to participate . The tournament started on 9 July 1877, and the final--delayed for three days by rain--was played on 19 July in front of a crowd of about 200 people who each paid an entry fee of one shilling . The winner received 12 guineas in prize money and a silver challenge cup, valued at 25 guineas, donated by the sports magazine The Field . Spencer Gore, a 27 - year - old rackets player from Wandsworth, became the first Wimbledon champion by defeating William Marshall, a 28 - year - old real tennis player, in three straight sets in a final that lasted 48 minutes . The tournament made a profit of £ 10 and the pony roller remained in use . An analysis made after the tournament led to some modifications of the rules regarding the court dimensions . </P>

When was the first wimbledon tennis tournament held