The London Borough of Merton is a borough in south-west London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton and Morden Urban District, all formerly within Surrey. The borough derives its name from the historic parish of Merton, which was centred around the location now known as South Wimbledon. The local authority is Merton London Borough Council.
As outlined by population estimates made in the middle of 2014, the borough includes a permanent population of about 203515 inhabitants. The borough is also served by various London Tramlink stops from Wimbledon, which goes to Croydon, New Addington, Elmers End and Beckenham. It is the only London Borough which has tube, rail and tram services.
The principle commercial centres in Merton are Mitcham, Morden and Wimbledon, of which Wimbledon is the biggest. Other smaller sized centres include Raynes Park, Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park and Pollards Hill. Each year, Wimbledon, one of the four tennis Grand Slam tournaments, is held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Church Road Wimbledon. The event occurs over a fortnight at the end of June and start of July and it is the largest annual sporting occasion to take place in the UK, attracting more than 200000 guests through the Wimbledon fortnight.