Wimbledon officials have urged spectators not to head to the famous ticket queue on the tournament’s opening day, after huge crowds arrived hoping to secure last-minute entry.
The traditional Wimbledon queue was already packed early in the morning, with organisers confirming that around 10,000 people were in line by 8.30am.
While some fans had camped out overnight, the surge at daybreak is believed to have been fuelled in part by the growing availability of e-bikes. In previous years, those catching the first District Line Tube to Southfields could usually expect to secure a ground pass, but services such as Lime bikes now allow fans to reach the site much earlier.
Asked about the situation by Daily Mail Sport during her pre-Championships briefing, All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said: “The queue is really busy this morning.”
“We were at 10,000 by about 8.30am, so we are advising people, if they haven’t already set off to travel, not to travel, because the queue is effectively full,” she added.
Wimbledon has warned fans to stop joining the ticket queue after 10,000 people arrived on Day One
Many fans who queued through the night may have been hoping for No 1 Court tickets to see Emma Raducanu before her injury withdrawal
The early surge is thought to have been partly driven by the easier availability of e-bikes
‘I think back to that period post-Covid where we were somewhat nervous that the queue might die, and ironically the queue has become increasingly popular over that period of time.
‘But also the way people travel and engage with things has also changed, so for those of you that have queued, you will know that the time you used to have to arrive was the first tube into Southfields, but now with the availability of lime and other available branded bikes, people can get to the queue much more easily from slightly further away rather than waiting for the first tube.
‘So undoubtedly the dynamics of the queue have changed and are constantly changing, and we are having to adapt the way that we operate it, but we are absolutely committed to what the queue stands for, which is accessibility.’
Around 500 tickets for each of the show courts are made available every morning for those prepared to wait.
And some fans had travelled astonishing distances for the privilege.
The very first person in the queue was Florence Chan, 55, from Hong Kong, who landed at 11pm on Friday from Thailand before making her way to Wimbledon in time to join the queue at 7.30am on Saturday.
She was carrying hand-painted portraits of Novak Djokovic featuring a goat in the background – artwork she hopes the seven-time champion will sign during the fortnight.
Others had crossed continents for their first taste of Wimbledon.
Evlyn Smith, 67, from Denver, Colorado, said: “This is my first time in the queue and my first time in London. I love playing tennis and have always wanted to come down for this. But we only got here at 7.30 so we are a bit worried that we won’t even make it in.”
For some, however, queueing has become an annual ritual.
Mike Chinner, 59, and his partner Gail Garbett, 60, have attended Wimbledon almost every year for the past four decades, missing only the cancelled 2020 Championships and the restricted tournament in 2021.
Nearby, William Whittaker, 18, and his mother Hannah, 52, had already pitched their tent by 8am today – despite hoping to attend tomorrow’s play instead.
They said: “This is our fourth year in queue, we come done from Hertfordshire. Our plan is to be able to get in for tomorrow to see Serena William and Jack Draper. We love it here – there is quite literally no place like Wimbledon tennis.”
Not everyone in the queue was celebrating, however.
Many had hoped to watch Emma Raducanu before she withdrew from the tournament late on Sunday, leaving some fans devastated.
Hannah Blake, 38, who remained in the queue despite the withdrawal, said: “ I am so disappointed she is not playing she was the main reason we were here. She is an excellent player but there does seem to always be something wrong with her. It is such a shame.”
Wimbledon chiefs acknowledged the dynamics of the famous queue are always changing
The tournament stated it remains ‘absolutely committed to what the queue stands for, which is accessibility’
But tennis fans weren’t the only people lining up outside the famous gates.
Dressed as giant tennis balls and carrying oversized placards, campaigners from Save Wimbledon Park joined the queue to continue their protest against the All England Club’s proposed expansion.
The campaign group opposes plans to build 38 additional tennis courts and a new 8,000-seat stadium on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club site, a development that would allow qualifying matches to be staged at Wimbledon for the first time.
Protesters argue the scheme would permanently damage the local environment, result in years of major construction work, remove hundreds of mature trees and build over protected Metropolitan Open Land.
Although a lengthy legal challenge suffered a significant setback after the High Court ruled in March that the land was not protected by a public recreation trust, clearing one of the biggest legal hurdles facing the development, campaigners insist the fight is far from over and continued demonstrating alongside the thousands of tennis fans eager to get inside
