All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club are invited to become members. The patron of the club is Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and the President is The Duke of Kent. The Club was founded by six gentlemen at the offices of "The Field" on 23 July 1868 at the height of a croquet craze as the "All England Croquet Club," and held its first croquet competition in 1870. Its original ground was situated off Worple Road, Wimbledon. Croquet was very popular there until the then-infant sport of lawn tennis (a game introduced by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so prior, and originally called "Sphairistikè") was
Croquet Association the game, in conjunction with the croquet associations of Australia, New Zealand and the United States. It also controls the regulations of tournaments for its member clubs. The Open Championship of croquet originally dates back to 1867, but after a hiatus during the years 1883-1896 was reintroduced by the Croquet Association. The President's Cup was introduced in 1901, though at the time it was known as the Beddow Cup, named after A.E.Beddow, the trophy donater. The President's Cup was an invitational rather than an open competition, and was contested between the top ten croquet players chosen by the Croquet Association.