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As the Wimbledon Championships get under way in SW19, Sky News serves up some of the key (and not so key) facts and figures about the prestigious competition:

:: Wimbledon is the world's oldest tennis tournament, the first dating back to 1877.

:: The competition had its television debut in 1937.

:: Some 674 matches will be played over the two weeks.

:: A total of 493,928 people attended last year's Wimbledon fortnight.

:: The most recent British players to win the singles events were Andy Murray in 2016 and 2013 and Virginia Wade in 1977.

:: The winners of the men's and women's singles will receive prize money of £2.2m this year - up by 10% on last year.

:: Champions receive a three-quarter size replica of their trophy.

:: Around 250 ball boys and girls are drawn from schools in the London area. Ball girls did not appear on Centre Court until 1985.

:: Rufus, a Harris Hawk, patrols the grounds most weeks of the year to provide a deterrent to local pigeons. He flies for an hour most mornings of the championships before the gates open.

:: Ticket holders, who will all be searched on entry, are only allowed one bag each, no larger than 16x12x12ins (40x30x30cm).

:: The courts at Wimbledon are made of 100% rye grass and cut to a playing height of 8mm.

:: Yellow balls were used for the first time in 1986. Some 54,250, stored at 20C, will be used during the championship.

:: The "predominately in white" dress code for players was introduced in 1963 before, in 1995, the "almost entirely in white rule" was brought in.

:: More than 2,000 rackets are expected to be strung during the tournament using 40 miles of string.

:: Championships recorded as being without rain interruptions since 1922: 1931, 1976, 1977, 1993, 1995, 2009, 2010.

:: Most tickets are allocated by ballot but people can queue for tickets on match days as well.

:: The fastest serves ever recorded were 148mph by Taylor Dent (Men's) in 2010 and 129mph by Venus Williams (Ladies) in 2008.

:: The record for most aces served during the competition is 212 by Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 and 102 by Serena Williams in 2012.

:: The longest match ever played was 11 hours five minutes over three days in which John Isner of the USA beat Nicolas Mahut of France. The final set lasted 8 hours 11 minutes.

:: Some 28,000kg of strawberries are eaten during the tournament along with more than 10,000 litres of cream.

:: Over the two weeks, 320,000 glasses of Pimm's will be consumed as well as 29,000 bottles of champagne and 110,000 pints of draught beer and lager.

:: In 2016, nearly 8,000 racket key rings were sold in the Wimbledon shop.