Wimbledon - Are you ready for strawberries and cream?

Natalie Crown Assistant Academic Officer

Date

June 30, 2015
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You might have noticed, but Wimbledon has begun! It is a jewel in the British calendar, and you'll notice we have gone tennis crazy. Here is how you can attend.

Tickets

Tickets to the main courts are difficult to come by. Most are sold in the ballots a full year before the event, and only 500 or so are sold each day. To have any chance of getting these tickets you would probably have to camp out on the grounds the night before.

But do not despair! There is still plenty of great quality tennis to see and you can do so by grabbing yourself a grounds ticket. This ticket will allow you access to all the outdoor courts, which will be full of great tennis particularly in the first week.

You will still have to queue early, long before the gates officially open at 8am, but it will be worth it. Go with friends. Take breakfast, a blanket, and some playing cards. You'll be set for the day.

How to get there

Shuttle buses run  from Southfields (District Line), and from Wimbledon (District Line), although Wimbledon tube station is actually further from the grounds.

You can walk to the grounds from Southfields, which will take you about 15 minutes.

People also jump into taxis indiscriminately, sharing with whoever appears first. Every little helps in getting you further along in the queue!

Returned tickets

Another way that you can attend, is by snapping up some returned tickets! Some (silly) people leave their cushy seats before the tennis is up! They hand their tickets in so that us desperate people have our chance. These tickets will be much cheaper, and they go on sale at 5pm. These tickets will be particularly worth your while in the first week, when the tennis will surely run long into the evening.

It would still be worth queuing for these an hour or so before, because everybody will be trying to pull the same trick.

Find information regarding tickets, travel, court etiquette and more.