Wimbledon - Tickets

Redders825

Hi all,

Anyone have any idea how best to go about getting tickets for Wimbledon? I was thinking of going for 2 days near the end of the first week, and hoping to get at least one of those days on Centre or Court 1.

From looking at the website, it says that to get a ticket on the day for a show court then they suggest you camp from the night before (i dont fancy that to be honest)

Is there any easier way to go about getting decent tickets or any advice anyone might have?

Thanks

RosyLily

Heya!

Camping the night before is the best chance you have of getting a ticket for one of the show courts. But since you don't wanna do that, you could always stay in London and get an early tube out to Wimbledon.

Piccadilly Hotel is right in the centre of Piccadilly Circus and is a five minute walk from the tube station. Double room is about £65 a night. Check here: http://www.piccadillyhotel.net/

Get the earliest Piccadilly line tube to Earls Court, then hop on the District line. I'd recommend getting off in Southfields station then. Bus to The Queue is just outside it or the walk is only 7-10 mins.

Hope this helps. I'm camping out the Sunday and Monday night, I'll let you know how it goes.

irishdub14

Hi, I went to London on the 2nd week of Wimbledon 2010, totally unexpected, only decided a week before and got tickets to No.2 court by going to the ticket resale office in the complex, tickets were not expensive. I queued in the adjacent golf club for about 1.5hrs (very quick!), went through security and into AELTC, then queued again at the office for 10 minutes before getting tickets.

As this was near the end of the second week getting No.2 court was relatively good, but I'd say you could get resale for No.1 (maybe even centre) during the first week. I don't think you would have to camp overnight.

Also, if looking for acom, I'd suggest the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum, it's cheap but very nice, couldn't get a nicer area of London. Its also right beside Gloucester Road Tube Station (Piccadilly line), from which you can get a tube to Southfields (or even Wimbledon if you want a coffee or something in Wimbledon Village before going).

Hope this helps, have a great time!

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/standard-tube-map.pdf
http://www.hikensingtonforumhotel.co.uk/

saintastic

irishdub14 wrote: »

Hi, I went to London on the 2nd week of Wimbledon 2010, totally unexpected, only decided a week before and got tickets to No.2 court by going to the ticket resale office in the complex, tickets were not expensive. I queued in the adjacent golf club for about 1.5hrs (very quick!), went through security and into AELTC, then queued again at the office for 10 minutes before getting tickets.

As this was near the end of the second week getting No.2 court was relatively good, but I'd say you could get resale for No.1 (maybe even centre) during the first week. I don't think you would have to camp overnight.

What time did you start queueing at to get resale tickets? You must have gone in the afternoon or do people just return resale tickets if they're not using them?

Viks26

Am I right in saying that the resale tickets aren't for a full days tennis? We're going to go and try and get Centre Court tickets for the full Thursday this week, so planning on queuing for tomorrow night, however, I read a review about last years queue about a girl who got there at 8pm the night before and that there were 1,704 people ahead of her. She still got a Court 2 ticket, even though it's meant to be 500 centre court, 500 court 1 and 500 court 2 tickets with about another 5000 general admission tickets available. Any idea what time you'd need to start queuing at to be in the top 500 and be guaranteed a centre court ticket?

eyeball kid

Any idea of what time you should queue for the outside courts? Also, roughly how much are these tickets?

Thanks...

Viks26

eyeball kid wrote: »

Any idea of what time you should queue for the outside courts? Also, roughly how much are these tickets?

Thanks...

All the ticket prices are up on the website. If you buy them from the desk then all tickets seem to be pretty reasonable...http://aeltc2011.wimbledon.com/tickets/obtaining-tickets/ticket-prices.html

irishdub14

saintastic wrote: »

What time did you start queueing at to get resale tickets? You must have gone in the afternoon or do people just return resale tickets if they're not using them?

I was queuing from around 1pm.

RosyLily

Resale tickets are usually sold from 3pm or that. You might only get 1 or 2 matches if you get one.
Majority of people do queue the night before if they want Centre or Number 1 tickets.

I queued Sunday night. Really great time; loads of other people there and it's so well organised!! Stewards are there all night, toilets open 24 hours and food available from about 5am or 6am. I arrived at 6pm Sunday evening and was 780 in the queue...managed to get a ticket for Court 1 and there was Court 2 tickets available at that time aswell.

Viks26

I'd a great experience queuing for Wimbledon. We got off at the Southfields tubestop and arrived to the park at around 7.30pm on Wednesday night. Once we found the end of the queue were handed queue cards, 528 and 529, and were told that we'd a decent chance of getting centre court, but guaranteed court 1. The camp site is very comfortable with more than enough toilet and sink facilities. We were woken at around 6.00am and told topack up our things and be back in the queue for around 7.30. After packing our stuff away and dropping it off in left luggage, we joined the queue at our 528 and 529 spots and waited until the queue started to move around 8. We passed through airport style security at around 10am and were inside the ground by 10.30 with our centre court tickets, about 6 rows up from the front near the corner, excellent seats, however I'd argue that there isn't a bad seat in the house. We were lucky and got some great matches that day and definitely got our money's worth. Would definitely go again, and would definitely camp if going again.

RATM

I've always wanted to go to Wimbledon and see a professional game of tennis and have decided that this is the year it is going to happen.

But obviosuly tickets are the problem. So I am wondering if any experienced hands can give me advice on where to get them and also to answer the following

-How do tickets operate- ideally we would love to go to a final or semi but I'm guessing this is out of the question? Are they distributed through English tennis clubs ? Is this an avenue for the general public ?

-Failing to get final/semi-final tickets are quarters just as difficult to come by ?

-Finally if we have to settle for the early rounds during the first few days how can we buy these ? I know that sometimes you can queue up overnight to get in- I'm not really prepared to do this- are these early tournament tickets on sale online anywhere ?

Would really appreciate any pointers people who have been can give us

RosyLily

RATM wrote: »

-How do tickets operate- ideally we would love to go to a final or semi but I'm guessing this is out of the question? Are they distributed through English tennis clubs ? Is this an avenue for the general public?

I highly doubt you'd get final or SF tickets at this stage. Wimbledon run a ballot for the majority of their tickets. It opened last August and closed the end of December. I've applied 3 times so far and have got nothing. Definitely put your name in this August for 2014 though!!

-Failing to get final/semi-final tickets are quarters just as difficult to come by?

I got a QF ticket before but I had to queue overnight.

-Finally if we have to settle for the early rounds during the first few days how can we buy these ? I know that sometimes you can queue up overnight to get in- I'm not really prepared to do this- are these early tournament tickets on sale online anywhere?

If you really want good tickets then the best way would be to queue overnight. However, you might be okay if you join the queue at 5am or 6am. I used to join the queue at 7 or 8 and I'd be anywhere from 3000 to 7000 in line. I got lucky one rainy morning and managed to snag a show court ticket.:)

Every evening there's tickets for sale for the following day's play on Ticketmaster website. They'd have ones for Centre, No.1, No.2 and some for No.3.

Tickets are resold in Wimbledon as well. You have to queue for them but they can be good ones. I queued and got a ticket for the Men's and Women's Doubles finals.

Hope that helps!:)
More info here: http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/tickets/201205091336561699698.html

RATM

RosyLily- thanks for all the info, you're very helpful.

I did some research on the Lawn Tennis Club site and saw all about the ballot- here was me thinking I was nice and organised by looking for tickets in Febuary and the thing is already closed since December 15th ! Ah well....

Just regarding the Ticketmaster thing (as it is probably our best hope without doing the overnight camping thing) - are they only online or do Ticketmaster have a van on site that you can queue for ?

And also when you say that tickets are re-sold in Wimbledon are these show courts tickets or just general admission or both ? Is it the night before or on the day they're available ? And do they only allow as many people queue as there is tickets ? I don't want be caught in a queue for hours and then be left red-faced !

Finally for others looking for tickets there is another option- what is called debentures where people sell tickets from their 5 year book allocation. Prices are huge though so not for me but some might be willing to pay
http://www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/

RosyLily

Yeah, their ballot is ridiculously early and catches many people off-guard.

Tickets are on sale from the Ticketmaster UK website only. I've visited the site once and from what I remember the tickets were pretty good- the odd few for Centre Court, and some for No.1 and 2 courts.

If you get a ground pass in the morning, you can join a re-sale queue on Wimbledon grounds in the afternoon (usually around 2 or 3) to purchase tickets after people leave the show courts. There only £5 and proceeds go to charity.

I think the max. capacity of Wimbledon is 10,000 so they stop letting people in when capacity is reached. You can still queue to get in but it's on a one-out, one-in basis.

smeedyova

My name came out of the ballot the first time I entered. Got 2 tickets for court number 1 last year. You can still see lots of tennis with just a grounds ticket and if it's a sunny day it's well worth it. Once inside with a grounds ticket you can queue up, from about 5pm, I think for returned centre court and court number 1 tickets. These cost around 10 pounds.

What I learned:

If I get tickets this year I'll take an early flight on the day rather than stay over the night before as nothing really happens at Wimbledon before noon.

Bring your own lunch.

They didn't check our tickets at the gate to make sure that the name on the ticket matched with one of us, which it did.

I'll get in line for the returned centre court tickets early (if I only have court one tickets).

Sorry ladies, but the men's game is much better to watch so I'm not sure I'd bother with tickets for the ladies semis or finals (saw Maria Sharapova and it was just boring base line stuff, also saw the Williams sisters playing doubles and can say that unknown men make for more exciting tennis, for me, anyway).

Bring a picnic blanket.

Take a taxi from the train station. It's a long walk.

Muahahaha

Anyone else apply for tickets in the public ballot for 2014 ?

RosyLily

Yep! Got tickets for Thursday 26th June!!:D:D

yerwanthere123

^ Lucky! You got tickets last year too didn't you? This was my first year applying and I've got nothing. I think there's still time though?

RosyLily

Yeah, was lucky last year. AFAIK, they keep giving out tickets until late-May/ early-June. I'm sure some people might give back their tickets....idiots!:p

Niamhf

I have applied but haven't heard anything yet...fingers crossed! Do they contact by email?

RosyLily

They'll contact you by email if you get tickets. Good luck!:)

Sean_ros

Hi, I was interested in going to wimbledon next month. I know its late to decide this but how would I be able to get tickets for the first/second round matches? I've been reading posts and it seems that ticketmaster sells them online the night before (but do these sell out very fast?) or the queue - say if a few of us wanted to go and get outside court or even grounds tickets, how early do we need to queue?
Would be grateful for any help thanks!

Sean_ros

Hi, I was interested in going to wimbledon next month. I know its late to decide this but how would I be able to get tickets for the first/second round matches? I've been reading posts and it seems that ticketmaster sells them online the night before (but do these sell out very fast?) or the queue - say if a few of us wanted to go and get outside court or even grounds tickets, how early do we need to queue?
Would be grateful for any help thanks!

RosyLily

Threads merged.

If you want to go to the big courts, I'd say queue from the night before. I've queued overnight and it's grand. But if a ground pass would suit, then you could join the queue early in the morning - maybe around 7am. At the beginning of the tournament, the crowds are fairly big so get there early.

Ticketmaster might be worth a go though...could be lucky.

greenman09

What way does his ballot work. I'm from the north and applied once and got tickets. OH parents in a diff address got tickets 5 yrs in a row incl same year as us although different day.

Sean_ros

RosyLily wrote: »

Threads merged.

If you want to go to the big courts, I'd say queue from the night before. I've queued overnight and it's grand. But if a ground pass would suit, then you could join the queue early in the morning - maybe around 7am. At the beginning of the tournament, the crowds are fairly big so get there early.

Ticketmaster might be worth a go though...could be lucky.

What kind of tickets are put up on ticketmaster and what time are they available?. If I wanted grounds tickets for the first day would queuing at 7 be ok? And is it possible if i queued and bought a few tickets myself, without my friends being with me?

RosyLily

Sean_ros wrote: »

What kind of tickets are put up on ticketmaster and what time are they available?. If I wanted grounds tickets for the first day would queuing at 7 be ok? And is it possible if i queued and bought a few tickets myself, without my friends being with me?

I think a few hundred Centre Court, No.1 and No.2 tickets go up on online. AFAIK, they're returned tickets. No, when you join the queue you get a queue card. So your friends need to join the queue to get a ticket. You don't get an actual ticket til you get to the Wimbledon gate.

7am mightn't be a good time. Murray is probably playing on the opening day so crowds would probably bigger than usual.

RosyLily

greenman09 wrote: »

What way does his ballot work. I'm from the north and applied once and got tickets. OH parents in a diff address got tickets 5 yrs in a row incl same year as us although different day.

It's a lottery I think.

Sean_ros

Do you know if it is easy to get grounds tickets if you queue at around 5 pm? I just don't wanna be left with no tickets at all if I go over!

Also do you know what times the tickets are sold online via ticketmaster?

RosyLily

Sean_ros wrote: »

Do you know if it is easy to get grounds tickets if you queue at around 5 pm? I just don't wanna be left with no tickets at all if I go over!

Do you mean queuing at 5pm to get a pass for that evening? Not sure tbh never did that. People do queue at that time whether they get in though is another story.

Also do you know what times the tickets are sold online via ticketmaster?

Evening/night. Usually tells you on Ticketmaster when selling time is.

Sean_ros

RosyLily wrote: »

Do you mean queuing at 5pm to get a pass for that evening? Not sure tbh never did that. People do queue at that time whether they get in though is another story.



Evening/night. Usually tells you on Ticketmaster when selling time is.

Yeah for the evening. Are tickets got via ticketmaster collected at Wimbledon? By any chance, do you know of any accommodation nearby that wouldn't be too expensive?

RosyLily

I'm sure loads of people pop over to Wimbledon after work in the evening so might be worth a shot. Whether you'll get in, I don't know. I think the Ticketmaster tickets have to be collected on the day but I'm really not sure.

Accommodation nearby is usually booked well in advance. You'll probably have to look further afield. Maybe try hotels/hostels/b and bs in Earls Court? Never know though, you might get lucky with cancellations.

peter1892

The Earl's Court area is a good choice for accommodation if you can get it - especially as it's on the district line so getting out to Wimbledon is easy.

Last year there was a much bigger crowd in the queue on the Monday - probably due to Andy Murray playing that day. The queue was a little quieter on the Tuesday although we were there by 6:30 am. It was worth it was we got 'restricted view' tickets for Court No. 2 - the restriction was a pane of glass so no issue there at all and it was £27 as opposed to £20 ground only tickets.

Definitely keep an eye on ticketmaster as they do sell a very limited number of Centre court tickets the day before (i.e. on a sunday afternoon for Monday's play).

RosyLily

Probably have a better chance getting tickets on days Andy isn't playing. I queued when it was raining on the first Tuesday and there was only about 1000 or so already there...for the early stage of the tournament I thought it was good. And the rain cleared away to sunshine by 10am!:D

I wonder will the World Cup have any effect on crowds?

RosyLily

Got this email from AELTC about Ticketmaster tickets...

We would like to notify Wimbledon subscribers of the chance to purchase tickets for The Championships, 2014 at short notice via Ticketmaster.

There are two different types of ticket available: Returns for Centre Court and No.3 Court and Reserve seating for Centre Court and No.3 Court.

A limited number of tickets will be available: Centre Court for each of the 13 days of The Championships and No.3 Court for the first 7 days.

They will go on sale with Ticketmaster at around 48 hours before the day of play e.g. at noon on Saturday 21st June for play on Monday 23rd June.

Seat details will not be available at the time of booking but seats will be allocated in booking order, i.e. those seats judged to be the best available will be allocated to the first customer, and so on. There are strict collection arrangements regarding these tickets.

curiosity

Sean_ros wrote: »

Do you know if it is easy to get grounds tickets if you queue at around 5 pm? I just don't wanna be left with no tickets at all if I go over!

Had tickets for first Wednesday, so I went down on Tuesday evening (6pm-ish) to see if I'd get a grounds pass. The queue was down to nothing, got in for £14.