Guide to the Wimbledon Queue

Fancy a trip to the iconic Wimbledon tournament? I highly recommend attending though there are some key tips and tricks to ensure you have the best experience.

Here is my guide to attending Wimbledon via the Queue:

Getting There

• Uber or bike to Southfields Station, or drop this location in GoogleMaps:

  • This will bring you to the North side of Wimbledon Park

Entrance to Wimbledon Queue

• If you want a high chance of getting a resale ticket, join the queue by 4am. If you’re less fussed, join by 5am. Worst case, join by 6am. Any later and you won’t get in until 1pm

  • You’ll be in the queue likely until 10:30am (if you joined around 4:30am)

Packing List

Here’s what to pack (keep in mind I went on the sunniest and hottest day):

• Water bottle

• Handheld fan

• Hat

• Phone charger

• Headphones

• Book

• Makeup for touch ups

• Hand sanitizer

• Deodorant

• Book

• Refresher face spray

• Sun lotion

• Sunnies

• Jacket (if cold)

• Umbrella (for the sun or rain)

• Blanket for the grass

• Snacks to last you until you enter or all day if you don’t want to buy food on premise

Minding the Queue

• Once you're in the queue, the volunteers will give you a paper queue card right away - don’t lose this! Take a picture of it as a backup

• You'll be sitting in the field until about 9am when the queue will start to snake around the field as people are let in

  • There are loads of food vendors and coffee and tea vendors in the field if you want anything

  • There are toilets and water fill stations in the field too and you can leave your things at your spot in the queue while you use these

  • Take this time to download the Wimbledon app and log in! You'll need this later if you want to get in the resale ticket queue

Getting Your Tickets

• Once the queue is moving, you'll walk to the ticket tent where you can buy your general admission ticket. This will give you access to the grounds for the day (this is where you show your queue card)

• You’ll then be in Queue Village which has loads of freebies, toilets, water, etc

  
  

• Once you get here, go straight to the Ticket Resale kiosk (it will be on the right about halfway through the Queue Village)

  • Get your myWimbledon QR code scanned and you'll then have the option to select a spot in the resale queue for Centre Court, No.1 Court, or No.2 Court

    • You can only request a max of 2 tickets for one of the three courts

    • If you’re with friends, I recommend each of you request different courts so you have multiple options

    • Around 3pm, resale tickets will start going out. TIP: If you stay until the last 1-2 matches of the day you have a good chance of getting tickets!

    • You’ll get a text message when your tickets are available and then can go straight to the designated ticket claim area (there’s a map on the app that’ll tell you where) to buy your ticket

• Once you get through Queue Village , you’ll go through the bag check and then enter the grounds

Watching Matches On the Grounds

• Courts 3-18 have unreserved seating that is first-come first serve. You can queue for the seats at the doors marked unreserved seating

  • Take a look at the schedule beforehand and plan out who you want to see

  • I recommend going straight to the court you want to see and getting a seat; the first match of the day starts at 11am

  • You can’t leave your unreserved seat or else you’ll have to queue again (no saving seats)

• There are loads of smaller courts that you can watch from the side if there aren’t seats available but courts 3, 12, and 18 usually have bigger matches with more seating

• First matches start at 11am and generally the second matches start at 1pm but it depends on how long the prior match goes.

  • You can watch one whole match or jump around to other courts/queues

  • If you're new to tennis:

    • Men's matches have 5 sets with 6 games in each set and you must win by 2 games to win the set

    • Women's matches have 3 sets with 6 games in each set and you must win by 2 games to win the set

Things to do On the Grounds

• When you're ready, find your way to the bar for a Pimm’s and some food

  • You pay £1 for the cup so you can either keep it or return it to get your £1 refunded

  • The Walled Garden has good food options and a market tucked in the back that typically has a shorter queue

    
    

• Go to the Wimbledon shop and get some souvenirs

  • I believe you get a discount if you use an AMEX

  • American Express is a sponsor so there are loads of freebies and discounts throughout the complex

• Head to the iconic Hill to sit and watch the Centre Court, No.1 Court, and No.2 Court matches

  • If you have an AMEX card, there’s a bar at the top of the hill where you can get freebies (they had ice cream when I was there) but it can get crowded.

Getting Resale Tickets

• Many people started leaving around 4-5pm so this is when I got my chance for the resale tickets

  • I got to see the tail end of the last No.1 Court match (Draper vs Baez) but then they moved the last Centre Court match to No.1 Court so I got to see Coco Gauff!

  • Stay in the resale queue as long as you can because they move games sometimes

  • You only have 10 minutes to get to the resale kiosk once you are notified

  • FYI: once you buy a seat in one of the indoor courts, it’s yours for the day so you can come and go as you please

When You're Ready to Leave

• When it’s time to leave, I recommend using the exit by No.1 Court and follow the crowds up the street to Southfields Station where you can catch the District Line. If you need an uber, walk to Southfields and then get it (it’ll be half the price)

Have fun, take loads of pictures, and keep an eye out for famous people because they’re all around the main courts (I saw Russell Crowe)!