It is believed a pineapple is on the top of Wimbledon’s men’s singles trophy because of the rarity of the fruit making it a status symbol.
The Wimbledon championships started in 1877 and in the latter half of the 19th century, pineapples were prized as an exclusive fruit despite being first being brought back to Europe by Christopher Columbus almost 400 years earlier.
In the early 1900s in Hawaii pineapples were first commercially produced in order to import and grow in western Europe.
Because of that, the serving of pineapples was deemed as being of a higher status.
The current men’s singles trophy, including the pineapple, is the third iteration of the trophy.
The trophy is made of silver gilt and is 18 inches (46 centimetres) tall.
Every winner of the men’s singles trophy since 1877, the first being Spencer Gore, is engraved on the trophy.
All winners since 1949 have also been given a replica of the trophy to keep.
