For tennis players at the peak of their powers, it does not get much better than winning Wimbledon. It is the most prestigious event on the calendar and is also the oldest, with the very first edition being held in 1877. This year, it will pay out a record amount of prize money with the men’s and women’s champions each taking home a whopping £3million.
The winners will also be presented with physical prizes to commemorate their achievements. The men’s champion will receive the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy, which has been handed out to every winner since 1887. Meanwhile, the women compete for the Venus Rosewater Dish, a large silver plate.
But why are the prizes different? Express Sport takes a look…
Why do men get a trophy and women get a plate?
Eleanor Thomas, collections manager at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, has already explained the logic behind handing out different prizes in each category.
Last year, she told ABC News: “Unlike the men’s trophy, the Venus Rosewater Dish reflects a tradition of awarding more decorative prizes to women.
“Early women’s prizes included flower baskets and bracelets, but the dish has since transcended these to become a symbol of achievement in its own right.”
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What is on the Venus Rosewater Dish?
The dish was made by former Birmingham silversmiths Elkington and Co in 1864. It is a replica of a plate by German metalworker Caspar Enderlein, which itself is modelled on a 16th-century pewter made by French carver Francois Briot.
It carries a female figure, the representation of temperance as a virtue, seated in the middle of the plate. She has a lamp in one hand and a jug in the other.
The figure is surrounded by the four elements: earth, water, air and fire. Around the rim of the plate are the seven liberal arts: grammar, rhetoric, logic, geometry, arithmetic, music and astrology.
The names and dates of past winners are engraved on the inner rim of the dish. Those lucky enough to be awarded the trophy cannot take it home, though. Instead, they are permitted to keep a scaled-down replica.
What is on the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy?
While it appears gold, the men’s trophy is actually made of silver gilt. It stands 18 inches high and carries an inscription which reads: “The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World.”
One of the more distinctive features of the trophy is the fact there is a pineapple adorning the very top of it.
Thomas explained: “We don’t actually have an exact reason as to why it’s there. The pineapple was a symbol of luxury and hospitality in the Victorian era, something only the wealthy could afford.
“Historically, it was a popular motif at the time, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with Wimbledon or tennis. It does now, obviously.”
The names of previous champions, along with dates, are engraved around the bowl of the trophy. In 2009, a black plinth with an ornamented silver band was added because there was no more room to list names.
As with the women’s plate, the men’s champions receive a smaller-scale replica to keep for themselves.
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