In partnership with the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and HSBC, the Road to Wimbledon was delighted to return to India with an extended programme in 2015.
Qualifying events took place in four cities – Kolkata, Chandigarh, Delhi and Mumbai, followed by a Masters event in Delhi in April. As in 2014, the finalists will be invited to compete in the UK National Finals in August 2015.
Wimbledon.com covered the activity in India from the ground in Kolkata, Chandigarh and Delhi.
Dates (including qualifying) are:
10-18 January, Kolkata – South Club
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1954 – Wimbledon’s unique Ticket Resale scheme is introduced. Spectators leaving the Grounds are asked to hand in show court tickets which are resold for charity.
1977 – The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum opens
2001 – The Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative (WJTI) is launched. The scheme aims to broaden the base of young players at grassroots level through its school visits across Merton and Wandsworth and offers players the chance to develop their skills in weekly coaching sessions held at the Club.
2001 – The Learning department is set up offering curriculum based workshops and tours to young people aged 5-18 years as well as lectures for under- and post-graduate students.
2002 – The Road to Wimbledon, a national 14 and Under tournament, is launched becoming the largest junior grass tournament in the UK. 700 clubs, parks and schools participate through to 44 county finals and 128 boys & girls qualify for the National Finals played here at Wimbledon.
2003 – The AELTC begins annual sponsorship of Wimbledon Village Fair
2006 –The new Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum opens featuring a 200 degree cinema, the ‘ghost’ of John McEnroe and the CentreCourt360 experience.
2011 – The Learning department launches its first Community Art Project to celebrate the 125th Championships. The project involves 125 people drawn from local schools, art groups and a tennis club, turning 125 wooden rackets into unique pieces of art that celebrate The Championships.
2012 – The AELTC begins three year sponsorship of Southfields Christmas lights
2013 – The Wimbledon Foundation is launched as the community and charitable arm of the AELTC
2014 – The Wimbledon Foundation launches the Road to Wimbledon in India, a new initiative in partnership with HSBC and the All India Tennis Association, aimed at boosting the development of junior tennis in India.
June 2014 – The Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund is launched. Grants of up to £5,000 are available to charities and community organisations in the London Boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth.
2014 – The Ticket Resale Scheme celebrates its 60th anniversary. Since its inception in 1954, it has raised over £2 million for charity.
2015 – The number of children receiving a free WJTI coaching session in Merton and Wandsworth reaches 165,000.
March 2015 – The Wimbledon Foundation’s Health and Wellbeing Fund is launched. Grants of up to £30,000 per annum are available for up to three years to sustainable projects improving the health and wellbeing of residents in Merton and Wandsworth.
April 2015 – The Wimbledon Foundation launches its first sport-for-development project. Partnering with Magic Bus, funding from the Wimbledon Foundation will support a community and school-based programme for 2,000 children from underprivileged backgrounds in Delhi.
July 2015 – The Ticket Resale at The Championships raises £318,662 including match funding from HSBC. Donations are made to local causes and to military and emergency service charities.
August 2015 – Four finalists from the second Road to Wimbledon tournament in India travel to SW19 to take part in the Road to Wimbledon finals.
September 2015 – The Wimbledon Foundation hosts ‘Merton Young Faces’, a photography exhibition in conjunction with Wimbledon BookFest celebrating fifty years of Merton borough.
November 2015 – The Wimbledon Foundation announces its eight Health & Wellbeing partners.
December 2015 – The AELTC renews three year sponsorship of Southfields Christmas lights. Grants and donations made in 2015 totalled £615,000.
March 2016 – The Wimbledon Foundation’s third grant programme, the Get Set, Get Active Fund is launched aimed at helping local residents to be more physically active.
April 2016 – The Wimbledon Foundation commits to a further two years of funding to enable Magic Bus to grow the project in other communities in Delhi.
May 2016 – The number of children receiving a free WJTI coaching session in Merton and Wandsworth reaches 180,000.
June 2016 – The Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund awards grants totaling £54,000 to 12 projects tackling social problems in Merton and Wandsworth.
July 2016 – The Ticket Resale at The Championships raises £341,364 including match funding from HSBC. The Wimbledon Foundation’s Get Set, Get Active Fund awards grants totaling £81,000 to 31 projects across the boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth.
August 2016 – Four finalists from Road to Wimbledon China join four finalists from Road to Wimbledon India in travelling to SW19 to take part in the Road to Wimbledon finals.
January 2017 – The AELTC coaching team launches a new activity programme for early school years to help improve the physical habits of young children in Merton.
April 2017 – The Wimbledon Foundation increases its commitment to Magic Bus to £90,000 a year for the next three years. The additional funding supports a Livelihood Centre helping 18-25-year-olds to move into further education or sustainable employment.
May 2017 – The Wimbledon Foundation reaches a milestone of having donated £1 million to projects meeting social needs in Merton and Wandsworth.
October 2017 – The funding available from the Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund is increased to £125,000 a year. More than 11,500 local people are supported by projects in 2017.
December 2017 – Baseless Fabric Theatre is awarded the first Arts and Community Engagement (ACE) Fund grant aimed at supporting a creative project that will engage the local community, particularly disadvantaged groups who might not ordinarily access the arts. Baseless Fabric Theatre will create a street opera version of die Fledermaus to be performed in public spaces across Merton and Wandsworth in the summer of 2019.
January 2018 – More than 200,000 local primary school children have been introduced to tennis by the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative since it began.
March 2018 – A new three-year partnership with WaterAid is announced. An annual donation of £100,000 will support three wide-ranging projects in Malawi, Ethiopia and Nepal.
April 2018 – The Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund awards its 100th grant. A commitment of £150,000 is made towards the redevelopment of Wimbledon’s Polka Theatre.
June 2018 – More than £2 million has been awarded in grants and donations to charitable causes locally, nationally and internationally since the Foundation began in 2013.