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Wimbledon is about the only major UK sporting event for which premium tickets can be bought on the day.
Each day approximately 500 Centre (not the last 4 days), No.1 and No.2 Court tickets, which could be sold out in advance, are specifically reserved for sale at the turnstiles, along with ground tickets.
Wimbledon tickets can be legitimately obtained in the following ways:
In advance
The main proportion of Centre, No.1 and No.2 Court tickets is available to the public via the annual public ballot and the various allocations administered by the LTA.
Owing to huge demand for Wimbledon tickets, the ballot (since 1924) is still regarded as the fairest way to distribute show court tickets. It is open to everyone and has always been substantially oversubscribed.
Public ballot (including the ballot for Wheelchair spaces on Centre, No.1 and No.2 Courts)
To obtain an application form, applicants should send a stamped addressed envelope (overseas applicants should send an international reply coupon, where possible) to The All England Lawn Tennis Club, PO Box 98, London SW19 5AE.
Applicants should specify if they require a form for the Wheelchair Ballot.
Completed forms must be returned to the Ticket Office before 31 December 2008. Applications postmarked after this date will not be included in the ballot.
On the day
Approximately 500 tickets for Centre Court reserved seats are available each day at the turnstiles EXCEPT for the last four days on Centre Court which are pre-sold. Tickets are not sold on the day for the last four days because of the inherent control and safety problems associated with very large crowds in a residential area for that length of time. This policy was introduced (1982) at the local residents’ request when a Sunday finish was first scheduled.
Approximately 500 No.1 Court seat tickets are available each day at the turnstiles.
Approximately 500 No.2 Court seat tickets are available each day at the turnstiles only for as many days as a full programme of matches can be maintained.
Approximately 6000 ground tickets are available each day at the turnstiles entitling use of the free-standing enclosure on No. 2 Court and unreserved seating and standing round Courts 3-19
Actual number sold each day will depend on the number of people already in the grounds, the number of courts in play and the weather.
Centre Court tickets online
Following a successful introduction in 2007, the Club intends to repeat the operation of selling around 600 Centre Court tickets on the eve of the day of play as ‘print your own’ e-tickets. Details of any similar arrangements for this year will be communicated initially to those people who have registered for regular Wimbledon e-mail newsletters via the Wimbledon website www.wimbledon.org.
Hospitality: Individual, corporate, Club and official licensed agents
Less than 10% of Centre and No.1 Court tickets are allocated to all forms of hospitality.
These tickets are available only through the Club and its official licensed agents Keith Prowse plc (for all territories including North America) and Sportsworld Group.
The money generated by such hospitality is a valuable element of the annual surplus that is reinvested in tennis by the LTA and helps to subsidise other tickets.
Other allocations
Tickets are also allocated amongst others to the British Schools Tennis Association, British Tennis Membership, overseas tennis federations/associations for distribution to their affiliated clubs etc and other organisations with special claims, eg the two player associations. Club members and LTA councillors are able to purchase a limited number of tickets.
2300 Debenture seats on Centre Court and 850 on No.1 Court (see Media Information Sheet on Debentures).
Ticket Distribution
Demand for Wimbledon tickets has exceeded supply for much of The Championships’ history.
Wimbledon’s policy has always been to ensure that in allocating tickets a fair and equitable balance is achieved between all elements. Current policy is based on the following principles:
- The number of tickets allocated to the public should be protected to ensure access for genuine tennis and Wimbledon fans.
- Even though all tickets could be sold in advance, a number of prime tickets should be reserved from the public allocation and made available for sale on the day (making Wimbledon one of the last remaining major sporting events in the UK to offer on-day sales).
- Debentures should continue to be offered so as to fund the continual upgrading of the facilities.
- Less than 10% of Centre/No.1 Court seats should be reserved for the official hospitality market.
- Money raised from all ticket sales contributes to the surplus that is passed annually to The Lawn Tennis Association for investment in the British game.
Wimbledon believes that the existing allocations represent a fair balance of all interests. In 2007, these were:
Allocation |
Information |
Centre Court |
No.1 Court |
| Public |
Includes the annual public ballot, tennis players/members in LTA-affiliated tennis clubs across Great Britain and on-day sales. |
54% |
71% |
| Debentures |
Introduced in 1922 to finance the purchase of the new ground in Church Road. The money raised from Debentures has enabled facilities at The Championships to be improved without reducing the annual surplus passed to the LTA. |
16% |
7% |
| Hospitality |
Hospitality, both private and corporate, is provided by The Club and its official licensed agents. |
9% |
7% |
| Others |
Schools, players, press, photographers and television, Royal Box, officials, AELTC members, overseas tennis associations, etc |
21% |
15% |
| |
|
100% |
100% |
Ticket allocations for other courts
Ground tickets bought at the turnstiles allow spectators access to top class action on courts 2-19. In 2007, a total of 92,072 were sold, representing around 21% of Wimbledon’s total gate of 444,810.
Resale of used tickets
Every effort is made to ensure that seat tickets that are no longer needed are made available for resale from the Ticket Resale Kiosk to people already within the grounds. Original ticket holders are asked to put unwanted tickets in special red boxes for collection by the Honorary Stewards or, if wishing to retain them as souvenirs, to have the barcodes scanned on leaving the grounds so that a new ticket may be generated.
Since 1954, money raised from returned tickets has been donated to charity. In the last 10 years over £1/2 million has been raised, including the total of £85,696 (net of VAT) raised in 2007. The charities benefiting in the 2008 Championships are SPARKS (SPort Aiding medical Research for KidS), The Dan Maskell Tennis Trust and local charities as decided by the Mayors of Merton and Wandsworth.
HSBC, the Official Bank of The Championships, has agreed to donate to these charities in 2008 a sum equal to the total amount raised by the ticket resale scheme.
Cancellation of Play due to Rain – Ticket Refund Policy
Applies to all 13 scheduled days of The Championships, including the final Sunday.
- If there is less than one hour's play because of rain on the court for which tickets have been bought, the original purchasers of the tickets for that court on that day will be refunded the amount paid for those tickets - the maximum refund payable will be the face value of the tickets for the day concerned.
- Purchasers of ground passes at the turnstiles (except those purchased after 5pm.) will be eligible for a full refund if, due to rain, the average amount of play on those outside courts (2-19 inc) for which play was originally scheduled is less than one hour.
- If more than one hour's play, but less than two hours' play, refunds limited to half the amount paid.
- The Referee's decision on how much play has taken place will be final.
- Only the original purchasers are eligible for refunds under this policy. Refunds will be paid out automatically for tickets bought in advance, but tickets bought at the Club's turnstiles (prior to 5pm only) should be returned to: The Ticket Office, AELTC, "Raincheck", PO Box 98, London SW19 5AE.
- In view of the numbers that could be involved spectators are asked not to call at the Club's Ticket Office or telephone the Club.
- Tickets bought at the Ticket Resale kiosk not covered by this policy as the money is passed to charity.
- Separate terms and conditions apply a) to Debenture Holders as notified by The All England Lawn Tennis Ground plc and b) to any extra days of play.
Anti-tout measures
In September 1990 measures were introduced to minimise the black market sale of tickets:
To prevent tickets destined for genuine tennis fans from being redirected to the highest bidder.
To curb the black market in Wimbledon tickets, particularly with regard to unofficial corporate hospitality companies who acquire tickets from this source.
Under these conditions all Wimbledon tickets, apart from Debentures Holders’ that are clearly marked, will only be valid if sold either by The All England Lawn Tennis Club or by one of its licensed and authorised agents. Unauthorised sale or transfer of tickets immediately invalidates them.
The Club takes active steps to monitor and control sales including those made via shops and more recently, internet sites (such as eBay). Sellers of non-Debenture tickets will be contacted and injunctions taken out against those who do not cooperate and act contrary to the Club’s ticket policy.
Where the details of tickets being advertised for sale are known, the tickets are cancelled meaning that the purchasers will not gain entry to The Championships.
Provisional match schedule for the 2008 Championships
Start Dates |
Competition |
Mon 23 June |
- Men's and Ladies' Singles Start |
Tue 24 June |
- Men's and Ladies' Doubles Start |
Thu 26 June |
- Mixed Doubles Start |
Sat 28 June |
- Boys' and Girls' Singles Start
- Veterans' Invitational Doubles Start |
Mon 30 June |
- Boys' and Girls' Doubles Start |
Sat 5 July |
- Gentlemen's Wheelchair Doubles Start |
Date |
Competition |
Court |
Tue 1 July |
- Ladies' Singles (Quarter-Finals) |
CC & No.1 |
Wed 2 July |
- Men's Singles (Quarter-Finals) |
CC & No.1 |
Thu 3 July |
- Ladies' Singles (Semi-Finals)
- Championship Doubles (Semis) |
CC
CC or No.1 |
Fri 4 July |
- Men's Singles (Semi-Finals)
- Championship Doubles (Semis) |
CC
CC or No.1 |
Sat 5 July |
- Ladies' Singles (Final)
- Men's Doubles (Final)
- Ladies' Doubles (Final) |
CC
CC
CC |
Sun 6 July |
- Men's Singles (Final)
- Mixed Doubles (Final) |
CC
CC |
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Grounds open at 10:30 each day. On Courts 2 – 19, play is provisionally scheduled to start at 12:00 for the first eight days and then 11:00 for the Junior matches on the middle Saturday and in the second week.
On Centre and No.1 Courts, play scheduled to start at 13:00, except the final two days when scheduled to start at 14:00.
Seat ticket prices
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CENTRE COURT |
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NO.1 COURT |
|
NO.2 COURT |
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£ |
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£ |
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£ |
1st Week |
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Monday |
38 |
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36 |
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29 |
Tuesday |
38 |
|
36 |
|
29 |
Wednesday |
47 |
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44 |
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34 |
Thursday |
47 |
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44 |
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34 |
Friday |
57 |
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53 |
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38 |
Saturday |
57 |
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53 |
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38 |
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2nd Week |
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Monday |
65 |
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60 |
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42 |
Tuesday |
65 |
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60 |
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33 |
Wednesday |
75 |
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68 |
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30 |
Thursday |
75 |
|
45 |
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- |
Friday |
84 |
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30 |
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- |
Saturday |
84 |
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28 |
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- |
Sunday |
91 |
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25 |
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- |
On the day ground ticket prices
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To 5pm (£) |
After 5pm (£) |
Days 1-7 |
20 |
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14 |
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Days 8 & 9 |
17 |
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12 |
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Day 10 |
16 |
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12 |
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Days 11 & 12 |
15 |
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11 |
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Day 13 |
8 |
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5 |
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Ticket Resales: Will be sold for charity at £5. Not before 3pm and subject to availability.
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