Wimbledon is the greatest Grand Slam tournament on the tennis calendar. It’s rich with history and unique due to its grass courts. The atmosphere is elevated by the rules of the facility including the attire players are required to wear. On the last weekend in June and first week of July (with the exception of the first Sunday of the tournament when no matches are played), the best tennis players in the world take to the courts of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, also known as the All-England Club It’s a quick 20-30 minute trip outside of London and it's the toughest ticket in the sport.
However tough it may be to attend, it's still the greatest spectacle on every tennis fan's bucket list. This year is as good as any for you to join in on the fun.
Tickets
The initial way to get tickets for Wimbledon is through the annual lottery aka the public ballot. The allocation of tickets is different for UK residents than it is overseas residents. The lottery for UK residents starts on August 1st and requires you to mail a form in to receive your application. Overseas residents can submit their lottery applications online starting on November 1st. Both lotteries end applications as of December 15th. Demand always surpasses supply, so you’ll be very lucky if the lottery works out for you.
Thankfully there are other ways to get tickets. The most fun, time-consuming, and unique way is to wait in “The Queue.” (A queue is British English for a line.) Some people decide to queue overnight with tents and others join in the morning. Tickets begin to get distributed at 9:30 a.m and if you show up early enough (aka well before that) you will get tickets.
There are approximately 1,500 total seats available between Centre Court and No.1 Court and No. 2 Cout with several thousand ground admission tickets on offer as well. Volunteers direct you and hand out stickers that say, "I queued at Wimbledon" including the year. If it's raining, the stickers say, "I queued in the rain at Wimbledon." There are also food trucks along The Queue (it can get pretty long), but prepare yourself by going into a Tesco or Sainsbury for sandwiches and drinks before you get in line. There’s no problem drinking alcohol because it is England after all. People from all around the world are waiting in line, are always in good spirits, and will strike up conversations. Weather and whether local favorite Andy Murray is playing also impacts the length of the line. A full list of rules and regulations about The Queue can be found on the Wimbledon website.
It doesn’t stop there. Tickets for Centre Court and No. 3 Court are also sold online through Ticketmaster at 9 a.m. on the day before play. You’ll need to register for to receive communication the Wimbledon email newsletter about tickets. There are also debenture seats, which are assigned every five years to those who provide funding for the Club’s grounds to meet capital expenditure needs. Debenture tickets are the only tickets that are allowed to be resold and the process is heavily monitored. Debenture tickets are sold through the official Wimbledon Debenture Holders’ website or secondary ticketing websites like StubHub or GetMeIn. Just make sure you’re buying a debenture ticket. Wimbledon monitors the secondary market and has historically removed fans from their seats during the action because they obtained their tickets in an improper manner.
Finally there’s the official resale of used tickets on the Wimbledon grounds. The ticket resale kiosk north of No. 18 Court obtains tickets that patrons have returned. Those tickets are sold starting at 3 p.m. and are incredibly cheap with all the funds going to charity. Centre Court tickets are only £10 and tickets to the other courts are £5. You’ll just need to already be on the grounds with a grounds admission ticket or a ticket to another court to be able to get them.
Getting There
Getting to England is easy in the larger scheme of things, but obviously not cheap. Many airlines fly to London from the major cities in the United States.? Unfortunately summer is one of the busiest times for flights to London and prices won’t be that cheap. Traveling on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is historically the cheapest days to travel. The easiest way to look for flight is with travel aggregator Kayak unless you specifically know what airline you want to travel on.
Once you’re in England, getting to Wimbledon is incredibly easy. Most people take the Underground (the English version of America's subway, not to be confused with an English subway, which is their version of an underpass). You’ll need to jump on the westbound District line to the stop named Wimbledon.The District line connects to most other lines on its route, so it’s really easy to connect to. Most people change at the Earl’s Court stop. Just make sure you’re on the train heading to Wimbledon and not Ealing Broadway or Richmond. Once at the Wimbledon Underground stop, it’s an easy 20-minute walk to the All-England Club. There are black cabs or shuttle buses waiting to take those who are willing to pay for the quick ride.
You can also take England’s above-ground train system known as the National Railroad. That allows you to get there from London’s Waterloo Station as well as destinations such as Exeter, Portsmouth, Southampton and a few other cities in England. The train drops off at the same area as the Underground. Schedules are available at the National Rail website. The bus is also an option, whether it’s the regular London Transit variety orLondon General’s shuttle service.
Most people choose not to drive because parking is a hassle. Parking is expensive (£30 on the day) closer to the grounds at the official lot or Car Park 6 at Wimbledon Park. There’s also a Park & Ride system set up from Morden Park for £15.
Move on to page two for more information about attending Wimbledon.