Wimbledon Queue Draws Thousands for Opening Day
By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, June 29, 2026
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport
Wimbledon—Some fans dressed as giant tennis balls, some sipped champagne in front of tents, while others bounced energetically around the grass.
On opening day of main draw play, Wimbledon’s famed queue was packed with happy campers.
A near record of about 10,000 fans filled the queue in hopes of getting a highly-coveted Centre Court ticket today.
Fans began camping out on Sunday and by this morning the queue had swelled to about 10,000 people.
“The queue was really busy this morning. There were about 10,000 by about 8:30,” All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Chief Executive Sally Bolton told the media. “So we are already telling people if you haven’t already set out to travel not to travel because the queue is effectively full.”
Bolton said the queue is hitting peak popularity now.
“I sort of think back to that period post-COVID where we were somewhat nervous that the queue might die and ironically the queue has become increasingly popular over that period of time,” Bolton said. “But also the way people travel and engage with things has also changed.
“So for those of you at have queued, then you will know that the time you used to have to arrive was the first Tube into Southfields. But now, people can get to the queue much more easily from slightly further away rather than waiting for the first Tube. So undoubtedly the dynamics of the queue have changed and are constantly change. We are having to adapt the way we operate it.
“But we are absolutely committed to what the queue stands for which is accessibility. People are willing to queue and probably camp over night to get Centre Court tickets and that’s something we are absolutely committed to protecting.”
Asked if that 10,000-fan filled queue was an all-time Wimbledon record, Bolton replied: “I’m not sure if it’s a record, but it’s very busy.”
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