Wimbledon Information and Getting Tickets

For tennis fans, Wimbledon is one of the most awaited tournaments. If you are planning to visit Wimbledon, during the tournament, this article should give you a good overview on obtaining tickets and what to expect during your visit.

The winner of this year’s Wimbledon Singles Championship will earn $1.8 million. For more information on the prize money, please click here

Here are some key dates:

1. Qualifying matches will be played between 13th June 2011 and 16th June 2011.

2. The Championships will be played between 20th June 2011 and 3rd July 2011.

3. The seeding’s were announced on 15th June. In case, you missed, please click here for the official seedings for Wimbledon 2011.

4. The draws will take place on 17th June 2011

At the Wimbledon, matches are played on 19 courts. This year will also mark the opening of Court No. 3. This will increase the count of stadium courts to four and all have Hawk-Eye electronic line calling facilities. The new court can accommodate around 2,000 spectators. Matches of seeded players are generally scheduled on the grand Centre Court or one of these stadium courts. Matches start at around 9:30 am and could go on as late as 10:30pm.

The good news is you can still obtain premium tickets for the Championships. There are several ways of obtaining tickets for the Wimbledon tournament:

1. The Public Ballot: The majority of tickets are allocated through a public ballot. The deadline for this year’s ballot was 31st December 2010. In case you are planning to visit this year, you could consider other options that I have listed below.

2. The Queue: Depending on which tickets you are after, you would either be required to camp overnight or just arrive a few hours before commencement of the matches. Only ONE ticket is issued per person. On each day (except for the last four days), there are 500 tickets for the stadium courts and roughly 6,000 tickets for Ground Admission.

If you want entry to the stadium courts, where generally the top seeds play their matches, you would need to camp overnight. You will need to join the queue on Church road either towards Southfields or Wimbledon village. Both queues will eventually merge and pass through Gate No. 3. On joining the queue, one of the Stewards will hand you a numbered Queue Card. At around 6:30 am, the Honorary Steward will wake everybody up, and the queue will start moving by 7:00am. By the time you enter the holding area, it will be 10:00 am.

If you just want a taste of Wimbledon and are not after the Show courts, just land up at around 8:00 am. It can take up to a couple of hours for you to get tickets for the Ground.

3. Online Ticket Sales: On the days of play, tickets can also be bought online. These tickets can be collected on the particular day of play from the Ticket Collection Office. The website is www.ticketmaster.co.uk

4. Ticket Resale Kiosk: Ticket holders leaving their grounds have the option of reselling their tickets. If you are a buyer  on the lookout for such tickets, you could get lucky, and be able to get these tickets at a nominal price from the Ticket resale Kiosk, located inside the grounds. This is a useful tip, if you want to upgrade your ground ticket to visit the show courts.

Ticket Prices

Depending on the time and day, Ground tickets will cost you not more than £20. Tickets to Show courts can cost anywhere between £45 to £90. If you wish enter after 5 pm, tickets get much cheaper. During the first week of the tournament, Show Court tickets should not cost more than £60.

Refund Policy

Due to bad weather, if one hour of play is not possible in the entire day, you will be eligible for a refund. The tickets should be mailed to the following address: The Ticket Office, The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, “Raincheck”, PO Box 98, London SW19 5AE.

(Note: In the past, I have claimed a refund and the process could take around 6 weeks. Please ensure you attach a covering letter with your correct postal address)

Weather

The weather at Wimbledon can be very unpredictable. It can rain at any time of the year and can get very cold at nights and in the mornings. If you decide to camp overnight, please be prepared for rough weather. Before traveling, it is always advisable to check the weather update on the BBC website.

Food

For the ones who decide to camp, carrying a disposable BBQ would be a good option. Nevertheless there are plenty of shops and stalls around, so there’s no danger of starving to death.

Tags: England

Category: Tennis, Wimbledon