2014 Men’s Wimbledon Champion Novak Djokovic (Getty)
Wimbledon 2015 starts in a little over two weeks time. As you read this the grass is being mowed, the titanium pigment laid and the strawberries introduced to their off-white partner in crime. Ball boys and girls across South West London are being drilled to within an inch of their lives to roll the perfect tennis ball and not fall flat on their asses in front of the Queen (who would certainly not be amused).
The ballot for tickets closed some time ago, but fear not: there are still plenty of ways – five, to be precise – to get your in-person SW19 tennis fix this late June and early July: The Queue, Late Entry, Ticketmaster, Resale and Debentures & Hospitality.
Outlined below is all the information you need to savor as much Pimms and tennis-generated adrenaline as your bloodstream can tolerate.
1. The Queue
“The Queue” in all its glory (Getty)
The Queue is a rite of passage for many Wimbledon goers, combining the trials and tribulations of camping at a music festival with a test of mental stamina bordering on the psychotic. Thousands rock up with their tents and other camping paraphernalia every evening to stand a chance of buying a ticket for the next day’s play.
The Queue is as it sounds: a very, very large group of tennis enthusiasts eagerly – yet politely – waiting in line along Wimbledon Park Road and on Wimbledon Golf Course for the few thousand tickets of all prices (in addition to ground passes, a limited number of show court tickets are also available for the first 10 days of the Championship) made available to purchase on the day from Gate 3. When you join The Queue you will be given a card with the date and a number on it, indicating your place in the queue. These cards are non-transferable and are designed to counter overly-aggressive tent-pitching and queue jumping. Cards are dished out on a first come, first served basis.
You can read all about the etiquette of The Queue on the Wimbledon website (us Brits do enjoy a well-organised queue), but before you even look over the rules and regs, ask yourself this simple question: am I prepared to queue / camp overnight on a golf course through all weathers for a ticket, with no guarantee I’ll actually see any tennis (i.e. if it rains)?
If the answer is yes, make sure you bring sustenance, a tent, a good book and some cash: no credit / debit cards are accepted. You can find full details on ticket prices on the official Wimbledon website. In general, however, prices for the show courts go up as the tournament progresses and the matches become more important, while prices for the grounds go down as fewer and fewer games are played on the minor courts. Ground passes start at GBP25 for the first week’s play, falling all the way down to just GBP5 for the final Sunday.
If the answer is no, scroll down for some of the more sedate ticketing options available outside the confines of the ballot.
2. Late Entry
Spectators on Henman Hill / Murray Mound, depending on your proclivities (Getty)
Not dissimilar to The Queue, but certainly more relaxed, you can enter the grounds of the All England Club after 5pm on a one-in, one-out basis. Capacity is the key to the likelihood of entry: if a ton of people are pouring out of the grounds – if it’s raining, say – your chances of getting in quickly are pretty good (though how much tennis you’ll actually see is another matter). Expect to queue for around 30 minutes on average.
Since Late Entry is most likely to get you access to the grounds only, you’re best served doing so during the first week of play, when many matches are still being contested on the minor courts. In late June / early July the British sunshine can continue providing light until well past 9pm, so on a fine evening a Late Entry ticket could provide at least a couple hours of tennis. Late Entry ground passes are approximately 30% cheaper than all-day ground passes.
Once you’ve gained access to the All England Club, however, you do have an opportunity to access the show courts through Resale Tickets.
3. Resale Tickets
Last year’s champions: Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova (Getty)
Anybody lucky enough to have tickets to a show court (Centre Court, Court One and Two) but unable to stay for the whole day’s play are encouraged to return their tickets for resale. These returned tickets go on sale each day at 3pm from a kiosk just north of Court 18. You have to be inside the grounds in order to purchase one, and there is inevitably a queue, but this is one of the most cost-effective means of experiencing the atmosphere of a show court.
What’s more, you’ll experience the warm, fuzzy do-gooding glow of knowing that 100% of proceeds from your returned ticket purchase will go to charity.
4. Ticketmaster
The crowds greet Novak Djokovic outside Centre Court (Getty)
Online ticketing site Ticketmaster has an exclusive agreement with Wimbledon to sell a few hundred tickets for Centre Court and No.3 Court on the day before the corresponding day’s play. As you can imagine, these tickets are snapped up super-fast, and details are communicated first to those who have signed up for Wimbledon’s e-mail newsletters. You can do just that right here.
5. Debentures and Hospitality
Debenture holders don’t have to deal with any of this nonsense (Getty)
Debentures – advertised on the first Saturday of every month in The Times (natch.) – give the holder the right to one seat in Centre Court for each day’s play, or for the first 10 days’ play inside Court No.1. They last for five years, are available to buy only periodically, and are bloody expensive (around GBP50,000 for Centre Court).
We’re not suggesting buying a debenture as a practical means of gaining access to Wimbledon this late in the day, but the good thing is that a debenture ticket for any particular day’s play is free to be transferred or sold on the open market.
If you know a debenture holder, now is the time to start kissing ass. If you don’t, or you can’t bring yourself to brown-nose, there are a number of sites upon which you can buy debenture holders’ unwanted tickets, such as Wimbledon Debenture Holders and Tickets To Wimbledon. However, be warned: these tickets are eye-wateringly expensive, starting in the hundreds and escalating quickly into the thousands of pounds.
Debenture holders often sell their tickets to hospitality companies, who provide access to show courts incorporated within a food, drink and entertainment package. There are a number of firms offering this service, including Keith Prowse and Sportsworld. Again, be warned about prices: these packages will set you back a small fortune, but by God you’ll have a bally good time, what?
Who’s in for another glass of Bolly?