In 1967, one year before the first Wimbledon Championships of the Open Era, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club—the private members' club that hosts the green- and purple-hued tournament—purchased an unassuming 11-acre parcel of land directly north of its grounds, which until that point had extended no farther than Centre Court. The club had no immediate use for its new acquisition, so they leased the grassy expanse to the London New Zealand Rugby Football Club—a home for New Zealand expatriates who had been playing rugby in England since 1926. The group named the ground “Aorangi,” after Aoraki, or Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand, roughly "cloud in the sky," or “cloud piercer,” depending on which translation you consult. All England ended the lease in 1981 (the same year perhaps the first-ever tennis meme was coined during a first-round match at the Championships: “You cannot be serious!”), bidding goodbye to its Kiwi tenants while holding onto the name they gave it.
Parts of Aorangi Park remain firmly democratic. This includes Henman Hill, the famed slope where a grounds pass buys you the opportunity to recline and watch the competition on a jumbo display, brimmed hat optional. (Although nicknamed after Tim Henman, the British former world No. 4 who inspired throngs of patriotic spectators to congregate and watch televised broadcasts of his matches, this hill is technically called Aorangi Terrace.)
But go a little further, toward the practice courts, and a spirit of aristocracy reasserts itself. To access, one must be a player, or a member of the player’s team, or a hitting partner, or, humbly, finally, a credentialed member of the press. When I arrive, the lanky press-office assistant who escorts me explains that it’s his favorite area of the tournament. This is his first Wimbledon, he tells me with a grin, and anytime he’s had the chance to show someone where the practice courts are, he takes it; so, no, he doesn’t mind the walk or the crowds we cut through as we wind out of the Media Centre, past the Walled Garden, and around the backside curve of Court No. 1 that faces Henman Hill. The Hill is a prime spot for people watching, yes, but where we’re headed is better.