Conquering the Wimbledon Queue

Missed out on tickets for Wimbledon? Never fear, the Queue is here!

I’ve had the privilege of attending Wimbledon many times through posh corporate tickets as well as through the annual ticket lottery. But for me, some of the absolute best days at Wimbledon have been ones I enjoyed via the Queue. I mean it’s the iconic British experience, right?!

Wimbledon is one of the few major events in the world that holds back thousands of tickets for same day sales, ensuring eager spectators have the chance to experience it at reasonable prices. Each day of play there are:

• 500 tickets for Centre Court (except the last 4 days);
• 500 tickets for Court No 1;
• 500 tickets for Court No 2; and
• Several thousand grounds passes providing access to the outer courts (3-18) as well as Murray Mound and the fun food and drink stalls around the ground. Even after the venue reaches capacity, the grounds passes continue to be sold throughout the day as guests leave.

After attending via the Queue for several years, I can happily say that I’ve never left without a ticket, and never regretted my time in the Queue; BUT it does take some planning to get it right.

Here are my tips for a successful (and enjoyable!) queue day at Wimbledon:

Pick your day

The perfect day to queue depends on what you want to experience. There is more play on outer courts in the first week and a far better chance of seeing top players with a grounds pass. The middle weekend is super festive but super busy. The second week is less crowded because there’s less outer court play, but it can offer a better chance of resale tickets for the show courts. For me the first week (before the weekend) has been a fantastic, albeit busy, experience. However, if you’re mostly keen to soak up the atmosphere, week two is likely for you.

Unsurprisingly, big name games and weather also impact the queue length. I mean, if it seems like an awesome day to queue for you, it’s likely to be the perfect day for tons of others! The fact is, the queue is usually long, but worth it, especially if you plan properly.

Arrive early

So how early is early? You really need to camp out the night before if you want to be guaranteed a show court ticket. If you arrive super early on the day, you’ll still have a chance, but I’ve arrived at 6:30am before and missed out on them. That said, if you do miss out on show court tickets, don’t despair – there’s still a chance for resales of show court tickets later in the day once you’ve entered the grounds — I’ll share about that later.

For grounds passes you don’t have to be there at the crack of dawn, but it’s still better to show up early.  I have had days when I arrived at noon and nabbed a ticket, but many days that would be waaaay too late. While it varies day by day, I’d recommend that you aim to be there by 9am to have a solid chance of a ticket, and even earlier is better. A couple of years ago I arrived at 8:30am and I was already number 12,863 in the queue. I managed to get a grounds pass and see several hours of fantastic tennis, but I didn’t enter the grounds until 4pm. Yes, that’s right – 7+ hours of queueing! Other days I’ve arrived at about the same time and had a far shorter wait. Even half an hour can make a big difference many days, especially from 7am onwards.  The key is to be there with amazing people who make the queue time fun in any case!

Get your queue number ASAP

When you do arrive, make a bee line for the queue cards immediately. I kid you not, dawdling for 10 minutes can cost you several hundred spaces in the queue. Also, do not make the mistake of just getting in the back of the queue without a queue card – find a steward, get your number, and then get in the queue.

This year, they’re planning to use a virtual checkin so you’ll need to have an account set up on the MyWimbledon app when you arrive. In the past they have only issued one queue card per person, so you need to ensure that the whole group is there as you can’t send one person ahead to get cards for everyone. I suspect with the new app checkin this will continue to be the case.

As a rough guide, if your queue number is in the first 1500 you’ll get a show court ticket. If it’s less than 10,000 you’ve got a good chance of getting a grounds pass for the outer courts, but the higher the number the longer you’ll have to wait to get in. Tickets beyond 10,000 are overflow tickets and far from a sure thing.

Dress for the occasion

Let’s face it – you’re going to be queueing for at least a couple of hours, likely more. During that time you’ll be sitting in an open field; and it’s London after all – the weather is likely to change – a LOT!

So, bring sun protection for the sunny times, an umbrella for the rainy times, a jacket for the cool times, and layers you can shed for the seriously hot times. I’ve often experienced all four in one day at Wimbledon.

The dress code at Wimbledon is smart casual and you’ll want to be comfortable. However, if you’re aiming to get Centre Court or Court No 1 tickets through the queue or the later resale offers, you’ll likely want to be dressed more smartly. Either way, keep in mind that Wimbledon is huge and once you’re in  the grounds you’ll likely be doing a LOT of walking, so think about that when you plan your footwear.

There are also a few forbidden clothing items like ripped jeans, running vests, dirty trainers, or clothing with large logos or political slogans. Also, while hats are helpful and welcomed, large hats are not allowed for obvious reasons.

Plan your queue activities

Probably my biggest piece of advice would be to consider your time in the Queue as a part of the Wimbledon experience. It’s going to be a sizeable chunk of your day — make up your mind to make the most of it.

So what’s it like? You’ll be organised in blocks by queue number and can only leave the queue for up to 30 minutes. There are some attendants who are sticklers about that rule so do make sure you’re not gone for too long or wander too far. Also, be sure you recognise the others in the queue near you in case the queue moves while you’re away! That said, for much of the time, you’ll be sitting in the same spot for extended periods and can settle in a bit. Okay, you can’t show up with a gazebo and BBQ, but you can bring things to make the wait more comfortable.

And, yes you can absolutely leave for small periods of time. The field has toilet facilities and water refill stations for the necessities. They also have some fun food trucks and at least one coffee vendor, so you don’t need to bring food unless you want to do so. That said, I’ve found a picnic while you wait is a great way to pass the time. There’s also a nice clubhouse and a little lake on the other side of the queue field when you need a little change of scenery.

Things I would highly recommend that you bring are:

• Weather protection gear (as noted above) like sunscreen, retractable umbrella, jacket, hat, and handheld fan. I also bring a little travel towel for rainy spells.
• A refillable water bottle – gotta stay hydrated!
• A phone charger/power bank — They do have a few charging stations around and also rent chargers, but the easiest by far is to just have your own with you in the queue, especially if you’re going to be using your phone as your queue-time entertainment.
• A good book or travel games/cards to pass the time, and hopefully some fun friends to pass the time with (though to be honest I’ve quite enjoyed queue times on my own with a good book)
• A seat cushion or light blanket if you don’t want to sit on the grass. Wimbledon sells some nice ones but I’ve only seen them for sale once you’re inside the grounds.
• Food and drink if you’d prefer that to queueing at the food trucks – Wimbledon allows you to bring in food as well as one bottle of wine/bubbly per person, but please note that hard sided containers or hampers are not allowed (even if they are small).
• A photo ID and credit/debit card to purchase your ticket and any other goodies on the day
• A bag no larger than 40cmx30cmx30cm (16”x12”x12”) to keep it all in

In general, plan on bringing portable, soft-sided things as most anything else is going to need to be checked at left luggage and the queues can be seriously long to collect them later.

 Things I would recommend you NOT bring are:

• Anything bulky or heavy that you will struggle to lug around the courts with you all day once you’re in the grounds
• Selfie sticks and tripods (even small ones) as they are on the prohibited list
• Anything else on the Wimbledon prohibited list (which you can find on their website)
• And of course try to leave behind any impatience and lean into the experience.

Overall, with a bit of common sense planning, it can be quite a nice part of the day.

Enjoy the tennis and the grounds!

Of course the whole purpose of the queue is to get to the grounds!

When your queue number is getting close to being called, you will be invited to move from the queueing field into the Wimbledon Village, which is a fun little holding space where you can relax, visit more food/drink trucks and watch the tennis on a big screen. Last year they were also handing out free ice cream and a few other goodies. I definitely feel like I’ve made it in by that point!

From the Village they’ll call queue numbers in batches and you can purchase your ticket and move from the ‘holding party’ to the real party! Once you’re in, if you don’t have a show court ticket but want one, make your first stop the resale ticket window (which has in the past been near Court 18). There you can get on a virtual waiting list for resale tickets that are returned when people leave the grounds. Often those who might be there for a corporate event will leave in the afternoon so there are quite a few afternoon and evening matches you could see, and the resale proceeds go to charity. Ticket prices are £15 for Centre Court and £10 for Courts 1 and 2.

Finally, be sure to have a wander around, even if you do have a show court ticket. There are lots of fun things to enjoy in addition to the tennis, and one I really enjoy is the little museum with all kinds of interesting Wimbledon history. Be sure to stop by if you haven’t done so before.

And of course, you can’t really go to Wimbledon and then miss out on strawberries and cream and Pimms!

Conclusion

The Queue is long, but worth it, and with a little bit of common sense planning it can even be fun. Let the games begin!