Wimbledon first allowed professional players in 1968, the year tennis entered the Open Era. Before then, Wimbledon was officially restricted to amateurs, even though many leading players were effectively supported financially through exhibitions, coaching or sponsorship arrangements.
The shift followed years of tension between established tennis authorities and prominent players who wanted access to prize money and professional competition. In 1968, the major championships opened their draws to both amateurs and professionals. Wimbledon’s first Open Era men’s singles champion was Rod Laver, while Billie Jean King won the first Open Era women’s singles title.
The change transformed the sport by bringing its strongest players together in the same tournaments and creating a clearer professional circuit. A common mix-up is treating 1968 as Wimbledon’s founding year; the Championships began in 1877. It is specifically the beginning of Wimbledon’s Open Era, not the start of the tournament itself. Records are therefore often listed separately for the amateur and Open Eras.