With the abolition of the corona restrictions on the classic lawn in Wimbledon, the most famous queue in tennis is back. Hundreds of fans lined up in the so-called “queue” for tickets for the first day of the Grand Slam tournament.
Many visitors had camped outside the All England Lawn Tennis Club overnight, the first of them for more than two days. According to the PA news agency, a man from California was the first in line around 11 p.m. (local time) on Friday evening. Around 42,000 spectators are expected at the facility every day.
The organizers are assuming a record crowd in the history of the tournament this year. That said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), on Monday. For the first time, regular games will be played on Church Road on the so-called “Middle Sunday”, the Sunday of the first week of the tournament. So far, this day has remained free and has only been used if delays had previously occurred due to rain interruptions.
The 2020 tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. A year ago, only 50 percent of the audience capacity was allowed, visitors had to be vaccinated or tested negative and there was no “queue”. This is “of great importance,” emphasized Bolton. It exists so that people can still get tickets for the same day. The so-called Ground Pass without access to the four stadiums costs 27 pounds (31 euros) for the first week.