Wimbledon first timer, do's and don'ts please 🎾

[leesmum]

Hi I've been incredibly lucky to get Centre Court tickets for the 2nd week of Wimbledon, I've never been before and not likely to again, has anyone got any helpful advice for the day? I want to make the most of what should be a fabulous day 🎾🍓🍾
Thank you.

Thats awesome! I can definitely give some pointers - as I just happen to work there. Are you getting off at Southfields? Remember that it can be a little bit of a walk so wear some comfortable shoes - you can always change when you get to the grounds.
Try and get in a little earlier when its a little less busy. Its a beautiful site and the gardening team take a lot of pride in their work. Get up to the top of Henman Hill and get the view of London in (by court 1) and also they have nice flower arrangements here. Again, if you get there a bit earlier, try and spend a bit of time at Aorangi - this is where the players practice and you can get quite close to the action. This is just by court 1. In the second week its even better as you will be watching the top seeds.

Finally - get as many strawberries in as possible. Quite possibly the best strawberries you will ever eat - they are especially farmed for Wimbledon.

Hope that helps! You will have a great time

i always find the food and drink there really poor quality and overpriced, you can take in whatever food you want and a certain amount of alcohol (check this, can’t remember). Get there early so you can look around, maybe watch the other small courts etc. wear comfy shoes!

Lucky you!

Keep an eye on the weather forecasts - depending on your seats, there could be limited shade, so sunblock/hats/sunglasses will be a must on a sunny day. Also it can get quite cool once the sun goes in, so bring a light jacket or some sort of layers!

Make time to walk around the grounds, you'll hopefully catch some outside court matches and you'll truly be up close to the players!

Also if you're after souvenirs, the large shop (below Court 1 IIRC) is worth a visit, make sure you avoid match finishing times though as that's the most crowded.

If you're a HSBC customer, bring your cards and you can collect a voucher for free strawberries (if they're still sponsoring this year!). I think you may be able to just show your app on your phone now.

Check out the schedule of play the night before and figure out who you want to see and who you'll be happy to skip, even on Centre. You can take that time to grab food, walk around the outside etc. It can be a long day so pace yourself!

Most importantly enjoy, am very jealous!!

Get there early & enjoy a coffee sat at one of the outside cafes. It’s a great atmosphere. We always take plenty of picnic food & then get hot food from one of the takeaway places, like fish & chips at the end. Have a pimms!

I hope you enjoy it-it’s such a great day out.

Enjoy a pimms (hopefully in the sun) on one of the outside bars - we particularly like one near centre court. Take a load of food with you, I agree with PP that it isn't great - although do buy strawberries!

You're allowed a certain amount of alcohol and we always take a bottle of Prosecco each. The champagne there is ridiculously overpriced.

Have a wander round the grounds, catch some of the action on the outside courts, probably only juniors and seniors in the second week - but the seniors is always a good laugh, they mess around a bit!

Enjoy your day, I'm there the first Wednesday this year 😊

Go easy on the alcohol if it is a very hot day!!

Lots of people are very dressed up as they are in hospitality.

Lots of ladies wear lovely summer dresses and then trainers or sandals for comfort.

Allow more time than you think to get in as you often have to queue even as a ticket holder and it is busy.

Def take some food and drink in - it’s v expensive, so you probably don’t want to buy multiple meals and drinks unless you’re going on a big splurge day. Do allow to have some things though - Pimms at Wimbledon and strawberries feel special.

Pick up a hard copy of a map when you arrive from an info point.

Watch some outside court play before Centre court begins. Let yourself have time to just wander and soak up the atmosphere.

If you won’t stay until the end, consider donating your ticket so that someone with a grounds court ticket can buy it cheaply and get a bit of time on Centre Court. If you’re staying right until the end, it’s good to share a bit of the love. I remember going as a 20 year old with a grounds court ticket and a guy giving me his Centre Court ticket at about 8pm in the evening as he was leaving. I was overjoyed to get the last 45 mins of centre court okay and sit in the hallowed court. Lots of people don’t stay until the end, but many don’t return their tickets…as it’s all electronic now, you need to do it via the official returns spot.

I’m another first timer this year so thanks for the tips! I’ve got No 1 court tickets for the first day. I’m really excited!

Thank you all so much for your replies, we are traveling down from Manchester the day before and we're staying in a premier Inn in Sutton so need to figure out the best way to get there on the Monday morning.
Our seats are quite far back so we won't be in the sun all day! I've been told about bringing bottles of wine/bubbly in but is there anywhere to keep it, I didn't think we could take bigger bags into the courts?
I have bought a small inflatable cushion because I've been told your bum gets a bit numb after a while on the chairs 😅

@ChessieFL you're there before me so will you fill me in when you've been, I hope you have a fantastic time 😃

The seats on No1 and Centre are cushioned and pretty comfy.

I think it’s okay to bring a soft cooler bag,just not one those hard big box ones.

Domt forget a sun hat and sun cream and a water bottle as there are lots of water filling points.

It’s an amazing day out.

That's good to know ☺️ we planning on being there all day.

Can I reinforce the message - not so much for OP but for other readers who might be going at other times who are reading for tips - about giving back your ticket for the official resale?

All, and yes they mean all, of the proceeds from those resales is donated to local charities via The Wimbledon Foundation. It's as a kind of thank-you for putting up with the impact of the event. Last year they distributed over £400k, much to small organisations, and it makes an enormous difference to local causes.

Hire a cushion from the stand near the entrance. Handy for Henman hill and the outer courts. Not been for a few years but centre court and number 1 certainly needed them too!

Don’t take any knives. Sounds obvious but I saw a guy getting irate when table knives were confiscated from his picnic. (They can be collected on your way out).

Thanks again everyone I really do appreciate your replies.

@SportsAndExerciseMedicineDoc what a fabulous job you have, do you work at the courts all year round or just when the tournament is on?
Also do you know if there's lockers we can use? We wanted to take an insulated rucksack for snacks and drinks but didn't fancy lugging it around all day, it would be ideal to put it somewhere safe until we needed it 😎

There are no lockers. There are left luggage tents, but they are outside the grounds so you'd need to leave the grounds to go and get your bag, then got back through ticket and security check to get back in. You're also only allowed one bag per person, 40 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm, so if you already have a bag with you, you won't also be able to bring in the rucksack. That said, I queue every year (and very occasionally get lucky with the ballot or online tickets) and from the Queue have been allowed in with a handbag and a small reusable shopping bag containing a bit of food (snacks and remnants of breakfast) and suncream. Not sure if they'd let you in with your insulated rucksack and a large handbag. Others may have experience of how strict they are about bags.

Also wanted to echo that the seats on Centre and No 1 are comfy - much comfier than they were in the 90s when I first went.

The Hill, and picnic tables and tables and chairs outside in the sunshine tend to get full quickly, so I often eat sitting on the benches underneath the Centre court and no 1 court stands. You can eat cold food in your seat on court, but hot or strong smelling food isn't allowed (though this sometimes isn't enforced).

The strawberries and cream, if the same price as last year, are £2.50 and have been that for the last several years.

I'm going this year for the first time in around 15 years.
I used to camp on the pavement with my son, fantastic memories.
But this time around he's 31, treating me to a hotel, and we've got no 1 court tickets for middle Sunday, so very different!
I was wondering about luggage, I'll leave my bag in the left luggage tent.

Re left luggage, there are 3 of them.
One inside Wimbledon park for the Queuers - I'd recommend not using it as at the end of play the queue to pick up your bag can be very long and slow moving
One in what was the golf course, sort of across the road from gate 3 - I almost always use this one when queueing but it's open to all
One in Somerset road - never used this so no idea where on Somerset road it even is!

These is a charge for the left luggage. From memory it's £1 per bag (£5 for camping equipment), proceeds go to improving the park.

I have never even considered this being something I would do but my god the descriptions from posters who have been before make it sound like such a wonderful experience, I think I might have just put Wimbledon on my bucket list! Seriously!
Have an amazing time op this sounds great x

Don't have 700 drinks if Nick Kyrgios is playing. Tone it down at 687 or something?

Have a wonderful day! I am not ashamed to admit that I'm slightly envious.

Actually have the 700 drinks, stand up and wave a MN banner about. Clothes covered in strawberry stains 🤣

Take plenty of food and drink with you.

Take a sun hat and raincoat.

Wear comfy shoes and lots of sunscreen.

Wear something smart casual like a summer dress.

Why has my skin gone all green ??
Jealousy is not attractive 😆😆😆🎾🎾🎾🍓🍓🍓🥂🥂🥂
Enjoy !!!

https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/atoz/left_luggage.html

This is the information regarding luggage - hope it help.
Yes - I am one of the doctors for the tournament - so there are always bits going on in terms of organisation through the year, but main role is when the tournament starts and the players are there.

Thank you for this thread OP! I am a first timer too- I am very excited as we have hospitality tickets via a client of my husband. I have no idea what to wear! Have you picked your outfit yet?

Thank you @SportsAndExerciseMedicineDoc very helpful.
@Worryaboutwork we're so looking forward to it too, I entered the public ballot for the first time and didn't expect to get Centre Court in the second week! I have a while cotton dress, it's from M&S and I have navy blue accessories 😃

I'm sure we'll have a fabulous time, for those of you wanting to go get yourself signed up for the public ballot in October/November, you might just get lucky 🤞🏼