Who is the first-ever Grand Slam winner in tennis history? Everything you need to know about the sport's first Major champion

Spencer Gore is the first-ever Grand Slam champion in the history of tennis. The Englishman won the very first edition of Wimbledon in 1877.

The tournament only had the men's singles tournament back then, with 22 players competing. Gore, who was 27 at the time, took on Henry Gillson in the first round and thrashed him 6-2, 6-0, 6-3. He followed this up by defeating Montague Hankey 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to seal his place in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Here, Gore was up against Francis Langham and triumphed 6-3, 6-3, 5-6, 6-1 over him to set up a semifinal clash against Charles Heathcote. The Englishman beat him 6-2, 6-5, 6-2 to reach the first-ever Grand Slam final in the history of the sport.

Facing Gore in the inaugural Wimbledon title clash was 28-year-old William Marshall. The former won 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to become the first Slam champion in tennis history.

Marshall eventually beat Heathcote to claim the runner-up spot since that year's Wimbledon Championships had only three semifinalists.

in 1878, Frank Hadow beat Robert Erskine in the final to win Wimbledon. He then took on Gore in what was called the 'Challenge Round' (where the defending champion played only the final) and won 7-5, 6-1, 9-7. This was Spencer Gore's last match at Wimbledon.

Apart from tennis, he also tried his hand at cricket and played a couple of first-class matches for Surrey. Gore died in 1906, aged 56.

Who were the inaugural singles champions of the other Grand Slams in tennis?

Maud Watson became the first female Grand Slam champion in tennis history by winning the women's singles title at Wimbledon in 1884 before successfully defending it in 1885.

Richard Sears won the inaugural edition of the US Open in 1881 while Ellen Hansell became the competition's first-ever female singles champion in 1887.

H. Briggs was the first player to win the men's singles title at the French Open by beating P. Baigneres in the final. Despite not being a Frenchman, Briggs was able to compete at the claycourt Major as he was a member of the Club Stade Francais. Adine Masson was the first female singles champion at the French Open in 1897.

Rene Lacoste and Suzanne Lenglen were the champions of the inaugural edition of the claycourt Major when it was recognized as a Grand Slam.

Rodney Heath was the first male champion of the Australian Open in 1905 while Margaret Molesworth won the inaugural edition of the tournament's women's singles event in 1922.