Back in the summer of 2016, I was fortunate enough to visit Wimbledon and watch my favorite stars play live in front of me. The ticket booking process at Wimbledon is unique across all sports venues in the world. It is still running in the legacy system of online lottery (50%) 1 year ahead of the championship and other 50% through the Wimbledon queue during the championship. The queue is the most fascinating and amazing concept one can ever believe. I took a chance to pay a visit via Wimbledon queue. A limited number of tickets are available daily for Center Court, No.1 Court and No.2 Court, except for the last four days on Center Court, when all are sold in advance. In addition, several thousand Grounds Passes are available each day at the turnstile gates entitling use of unreserved seating and standing room on Courts No.3 – 18. This piece of writing is all about getting through the overnight queue to the courts of Wimbledon and witness one my greatest experience of my life.

            During that year I was deputed at Derby (UK) to work for my company. I decided to witness the matches on a Saturday which will be the last day of the 1^st week of Wimbledon. Wimbledon is scheduled for 2 weeks starting on the last Monday of June. The first Saturday usually is the day of the 4^th Round matches for the Gentlemen’s Singles matches along with other matches across other categories.

            The concept of getting into Wimbledon through the queue is to reach the venue one day prior to your visit, stay overnight in the queue and try your luck the next morning to buy the tickets. I did enough research before going there and understood that 1500 tickets are available for the queue members until any back out or lottery winners do not turn up at the venue.

            I booked a ticket in train from Derby to London on Friday evening at 5:30, it takes 3 hours 15 mins to reach St Pancras station. The night before I arranged one fold-able tent and a sleeping bag from one of my colleagues to spend the night in the queue at the Wimbledon. That day I left work at around 4 PM excited like never before also bit nervous since I was going alone. I tried to convince my colleagues to join me but no one followed Tennis seriously to try this kind of an adventure.

I boarded the train (which was almost empty) with many uncertainties in my mind like whether I will reach Wimbledon on time to catch the queue under 1500, coupled with many exciting thoughts to watch my favorite stars live. However, I made up my mind to give it a try even if I miss to get a ticket. The time I spent during the train journey was like I am preparing myself for a big match the next day and trying to settle down my nerves. The feeling was beyond my dreams.

East Midlands Train Coach

I reached London’s St Pancras station and rushed out to the King’s Cross underground Tube station to catch the Piccadilly line (Dark Blue) till Earl’s Court station to change over for the district line (green) tube to Wimbledon. It takes 17 minutes from Earl’s Court to reach Wimbledon station and the frequency of the district line tube is every 15 mins, so I had to literally run to catch the 9:15 PM tube. The tube was crowded and I couldn’t grab a seat, however the amount of excitement that was building up within me didn’t let me think about it. I saw many other people carrying a back pack and luggage which meant they were also with the same motive of catching up the Wimbledon queue. The train stopped at the Wimbledon station right on the 17^th minute and my heart started pumping with excitement, bit nervous though. It was just the twilight of the evening in UK, I stepped out of the train and to my surprise the entire station and the street leading to Wimbledon park were decorated like some big carnival.

London Tube Map

District line Tube Train

I started walking towards the Wimbledon queue gate, directions were clearly provided for easy navigation of the spectators all the way from the station to the queue gate. Stewards were waiting at the premises to guide the people trying to enter the queue. I reached and inquired to one of Stewards to understand the entry procedure and he guided me with pin point accuracy. I was there at the entry gate with a metal detector frame in front me, waiting for my turn to step in. There were many people all around me but were waiting for their turn with utmost discipline, could see people from all round the globe. I entered and found myself as the 1882^nd queue member of the day. I was very upset as I was out of the 1500 count and my chances of getting tickets the next morning depends only on the no of back-outs. They provided me my queue card and asked me to follow the directions towards my assigned queue position. I missed to click photos during that time as I got bit nervous and very upset as well. The queue ground is actually a Golf course which they use every year to host the queue members. I managed to follow the directions and reached my queue position, other queue members already setup up their tents and were chilling out with Beer cans in their hand.

My Queue Card

I unpacked my luggage and started setting up my tent, took bit of time since it was my first time. There were food and beverage stalls available in one corner of the ground. Disposable toilets and washrooms were also installed in another part of the ground. I settled down with my tent and luggage and was looking all around to get a feel of the unbelievable atmosphere. The queue member ahead of me was a Spanish guy who was also solo. The queue members behind me was a couple from Australia. We all greeted each other and started conversing about the journey and our possibility of getting tickets the next morning. The best part of the conversation was that all queue members were serious Tennis fans which made me to get along quite easily. We chatted for sometime and went into our tents to sleep, it was around 12:30 AM. My sleeping bag was not warm enough and felt very cold as the night progressed. I somehow managed to sleep thinking all about my luck in store for the next morning.

Setting up my tent

Sharp at 6 AM Stewards came to gently wake us all up and announced to pack our tents and luggage. They instructed us to line up in order of the queue by 7 am. People rushed to the toilets and sorted out the freshen up process quite smoothly. It was a lovely sunny morning and the feeling was extraordinary to see the beautiful golf course in day light. I quickly arranged my tent, packed my luggage and squeezed in the queue with my group of the Australian couple and the Spanish guy. We loved each other’s company and decided to stick as group and proceed to check our luck on getting to the Wimbledon courts. Our queue moved ahead slowly and our next destination was the luggage room. The process is so well organized and I never saw any hassle either from the queue members neither from the stewards.

Picture of the Queue

People sorting out their tent

Through the Queue- In Pursuit of Greatness

As we moved on, I left my luggage in the counter, they provided me a token which I will have to display while leaving to collect my luggage. Through the queue, electronic boards were installed to show the order of play, court number and start time of the matches. Unfortunately, Federer was scheduled to play in Center Court and I didn’t hold any chance of getting through the center court ticket. Nadal did not feature in 2016 Wimbledon due to injury. We were discussing amongst us about the matches we would like to watch, I was interested to watch my Indian superstars in action. Sania-Hingis, Bopanna and Paes were scheduled to play later in the day. Other than them, I was interested to watch 3^rd Round match between Kei Nishikori and Kusnetsov, John Isner vs Tsonga, Del Potro and many other favorite players. My fingers were crossed as we approached the first gate of entry into the Arena. The Stewards will be standing in the gates and will keep announcing the no of tickets left and the category of the courts. Just for information, Center Court, Court 1 to Court Number 4 are called show courts and Court 5 till 18 are called ground Courts. Pricing of tickets are also according to this category.

Queue is moving

We reached the first turnstile and suddenly to my surprise I heard the Steward shouting Show Court tickets and ground passes available. I almost had happy tears and at same time was so relived once I heard the announcement. All of us were happy and started congratulating each other, we all made it. I moved forward towards the Steward and came to know Court Number 1 and Court number 2 tickets are available. The best thing about this ticketing system is that If you buy any Show Court ticket, you will be allowed to visit all other courts below it, for example I bought Court Number 1 ticket so I am allowed to visit court Number 2, 3, 4 (show Courts) and all other ground courts except Center Court which precedes Court 1. I agreed to go for Court 2 Ticket, the Steward provided me a token to be produced at the payment counter. Other guys in my group also bought Court 2 tickets. We walked through the beautiful ground and saw many coffee and souvenir shops lined up in the sides, still in the queue though. At the end of the queue was the payment counter, I paid £ 90 for my ticket and waited for my group to complete the formalities. The ticket was wrapped in my wrist showing the category my ticket.

Refreshment on the way

My Ticket

Our unknown group

It was around 10.30 AM when I entered the Wimbledon arena right outside the Center Court. A dream come true moment for me and I was like reporting “live” from Wimbledon. Right from my childhood days I used to watch all these in TV and use to wait for the Pre and Post Match show hosted by Alan Wilkins and Vijay Amritraj to see the insights of the Wimbledon Arena and now I am standing right at the midst of the most prestigious Grand Slam Tournament.

We first decided to have a look around the Wimbledon park and figure out our interested matches to watch from the order of play board. We noted down the required details and headed straight to the food court to have breakfast. Food court area was very crowded, we had a quick breakfast and proceeded to the practice courts to witness the players practicing with their support staff. On our way, we saw the famous “Henman Hill” named after the British legend Tim Henman, it was sparsely crowded that time. The Henman Hill was for the queue members who didn’t want to get into any court rather watch the matches in the giant screen and spend the day in the grass hill.

Order of Play Board

Henman Hill

It was a carnival kind of an atmosphere where people were flowing in from all directions, tournament officials doing their bit, players and support staff going through their routines. We reached the practice courts and there I saw Richard Gasquet practicing with his coach, always knew about his big single handed backhand but to witness it live I realized how powerful it is. Then a flock of Indian crowd gathered on one of the practice courts, I followed them and saw Sania Mirza walking in to the Arena from one of the player entry gates. She was very humble in greeting the crowd, specially the Indians and shook hands with most of us. Also saw Leander Paes practicing on one of the courts but unfortunately his both Men’s and Mixed Doubles matches were scheduled the next day. Amongst the famous players in the circuit, saw the Williams sisters, Tsonga and Raonic practicing as well.

Practice Court

The matches started at 11 am across all 19 courts and I headed first into Court Number 2 to watch the third-round encounter of Kei Nishikori against A. Kuznetsov. It was wonderful to watch from the stands and hear the chair umpire, to be honest the crowd at Wimbledon is always humble and they respect the British legacy which is running from decades. This gives a very royal feeling which I always used to hear in TV. The match was interrupted by rain, this was also a very interesting experience to watch how the ball boys quickly get on the covers and follow the process so sincerely. Big dryers are installed on the Show Courts under the covers to keep the grass dry.

Covers Coming on

Watching from the stands

Outside the Center Court

The Famous Cream and Strawberry

It was afternoon and I moved out for Rohan Bopanna’s Men’s Doubles Second Round match in one of the ground court. Ground courts will have just 3-4 rows of bench on the sides of the court for the spectators. I sat on the fist row and was very close to the action, witnessed the heavy serve of Bopanna which he is known for. Bopanna and his partner (Mergea) won the match in straight sets. After this match our group reconnected and gathered for lunch in the food court. Again, it was quick lunch since we had to catch up with the other matches. I watched the next few matches in bits and pieces as many were going on simultaneously across many courts. Watched Dustin Brown, Del Potro, play their respective Men’s Singles matches and reached well before time in Court No 12 to watch Sania-Hingis Women’s Doubles match. Bought a bowl of the famous Wimbledon cream and strawberry and grabbed a first-row seat just beside the baseline of the court, it was an excellent view. That year the Sania and Hingis pair was in excellent form and they became World No 1 after winning that 2016 edition. Watched the entire match which they won in straight sets.

Sania and Hingis in action

The next big match on my list was the Men’s Singles match between the big John Isner and Jo W. Tsonga. It was in Court Number 4 (show court) and I rushed there to watch that match with my group. The gigantic Isner with a 6’10” structure showed his dominant serve and Tsonga was at his regular best of an all-round game. The match was an interesting one, with 2 sets all and 2-2 in the 5^th set when sunset approached. It was 8:30PM and the match was still on but at the same time I was looking at my watch to catch my return train to Derby at 10:30PM from St Pancras station. I did not want to miss the action and decided to stay on till bad light stops play. At 9 PM, the Chair Umpire stopped play at 9-9 in the 5^th set. The match would have resumed the next morning, however I was happy that I could witness such an exciting 5 setter match. Stoppage of play was the end of my day at the Wimbledon which I thoroughly enjoyed by watching so many matches and hanging out with an unknown group of people.

John Isner in action

I rushed out through the turnstiles and headed towards the luggage room to collect my bags. I almost ran to the tube station as I feared of missing my return train to Derby. I changed trains almost in a running motion and reached St Pancras platform just 3 minutes before departure of the train to Derby. I sat in the train to get my breath back and smiled to myself saying what a day I had. I was satisfied to the core and could not believe that it actually happened. It was the biggest tick mark of my bucket list and was supremely amazed to have done it in this fashion. I reached Derby late at 1:45 AM, I called a PJ Cab and reached my residence with a huge bag of wonderful experience. It was a sheer pleasure and I thank God immensely for fulfilling my dream to have Wimbledon live experience.