The Challenge Cup is what it’s all about.
An appearance in the final is not the ‘cherry on top’ of a tally of six consecutive wins on the grass at Wimbledon for Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic; it’s the pineapple lid they’re after.
At 10.30am on finals day, The Challenge Cup – which is made of silver gilt, stands 18 inches (46 centimetres) high and has a diameter of 7½in (19cm) – is taken from the Clubroom showcase into the room where the engraving team sit poised to etch the name of the 2015 Wimbledon men’s singles champion. (For most of the year, it resides with the ladies' Venus Rosewater Dish on display in the Wimbledon Museum and replica versions fill the Clubhouse cabinet. On the eve of The Championships, the real and replicas are swapped over.)
Handled with due veneration by All England Club conservator Shelley Blake, who wears special white gloves for her duties, it is brought in and lined up at the head of all the trophies due to be awarded on the concluding day of the tournament.
Goodness, it has an aura. In saleroom lingo, The Challenge Cup has a classical style with two handles and a raised foot. The lid is formed with the aforementioned pineapple on top and there is a head wearing a winged helmet beneath each handle. There are two decorative borders with floral work and ovolo mouldings on the bowl of the Cup and on the handles. The hallmark indicates a date of 1883 and the inscription on the Cup reads: The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World.
“It is a massive privilege to handle a trophy with so much heritage,” says engraver Emmet Smith. And it is incredible to think that those same handles have been held by legendary champions such as Spencer Gore, William Renshaw, Jean Borotra, Fred Perry, Rene Lacoste, Rod Laver, John Newcombe, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras before the Federer/Djokovic era.
This is the third actual piece of silverware to be played for in the men’s singles competition, and the trophy has been awarded every year since 1887 after it had been purchased by the Club for 100 guineas from profits of the 1886 Championships. The previous trophy had been surrendered to William Renshaw who, having won in three successive years (1884-86), was entitled to keep his prize. Not prepared to risk losing another Cup to another consistently dominant winner, the Club made the decision that the new trophy would “never become the property of the winner”.
By 11am, after a thorough polishing to remove any tarnish that has built up over the year, the Cup stands resplendent in a room under the Royal Box next to the entrance on to Centre Court while Smith and his colleagues Thomas Hatcher and Przemyslaw Beres prepare their tools and await the flow of results of the 12 finals that are due on court. It’s a stressful job, with the build-up and four finals on Day 12 and the express turnaround required for each.
The Challenge Cup and the runner-up's plate are just two of 44 trophies, plates and salvers that need addressing on the last day at Wimbledon. “The names and dates of the champions are engraved around the bowl, but as it tapers down, there is less space and players' names seem to get longer,” says Smith. “The Ladies’ Venus Rosewater Dish is even more of a challenge because it is running out of space and we have to cut each letter along the curve of the plate.”
The trophies are carried out on court for the presentation. They are presented to the respective players, held up, hugged, possibly kissed, then come straight from the sweaty hands back into the quiet of the engravers' lair for the names to be etched on for posterity. The names are drawn on, spell checked and then cut with tiny hand-wielded chisels called gravers. The whole process from court to completion takes about 20 minutes.
From 2007, all champions have received a three-quarter size 13½in (34cm) replica of the Cup bearing the names of all past winners and the Club like each player to leave the premises with their inscribed prize.
The real trophies are then packed up in large suitcases and transported by private car and security to the Championships Dinner at the Guildhall in London. This is the only time the trophies ever leave the premises of the All England Club. On their return, they come back to Shelley Blake for cleaning and, two days later, are back on display in The Museum so that fans can see the gleaming allure of the prize that so transfixes the world's top players.