To commemorate the new stadium, all the three-time or more singles champions were invited to a ceremony marking the opening of the new court and were presented with a silver salver.

Ten of the thirteen surviving eligible champions attended: Louise Brough, Rod Laver, Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, John Newcombe, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Pete Sampras.

The only surviving absentees were Maria Bueno and Björn Borg who declined to attend and Steffi Graf who was recovering from knee surgery and unable to be present.

The first match played on the new court was between Tim Henman and Daniel Nestor.

[3] For only the second time in the tournament history (after the 1991 edition), Wimbledon saw play during the Middle Sunday, after 3 days of suspension due to rain.