A tennis enthusiast has demonstrated that obtaining a Wimbledon ticket does not necessarily require an early morning start, sharing his experience of joining the queue at 1:47pm and gaining entry after a three-hour and ten-minute wait.
Afternoon Queue Success Story
Christian, who runs the Instagram account @running.papa, documented his unconventional approach to securing a ticket for the Wimbledon Championships. Instead of following the typical advice to arrive between 5am and 7am, he turned up at Wimbledon Park at 1:47pm and received Queue Card number 1489, which placed him in the reserve line.
On-screen text in his video explained: 'Grounds were full. We wait for people to leave.' He spent the waiting time resting, reading, napping, and people-watching before finally entering the grounds at 4:57pm.
Matches and Cost
Once inside, Christian watched Jovic vs. Maria on Court 15, catching the end of the first set. He then moved to Court 12 for Struff vs. Nakashima, observing four sets before darkness fell. He concluded his visit with strawberries and cream on Henman Hill at sunset, captioning the post: 'No tent. No 4am alarm. Showed up at 1:47pm, got Queue Card #1489 (RESERVE), waited 3h10. Still made it for Jovic on Court 15, Struff-Nakashima till dark, and strawberries on Henman Hill at sunset.'
The ticket cost £33, according to Christian's reply to a comment, and he stayed for approximately five hours. The post garnered over 1,000 likes on Instagram.
Diverse Queue Experiences
Not all queueing experiences have been as positive. One commenter stated: 'I queued at 06.30am on Friday and eventually gave up at 1pm. It's quite ridiculous really.' Another shared: 'We were on the reserves having arrived at 7 am (I know this is late! ) we queued for 11 and a half hours. (I know, I was determined? ) Got in at 6.30pm to lots of queues to get in the remaining courts and queues for strawberries. By which time we couldn't face another queue!'
Despite these challenges, the Wimbledon Queue remains a popular method for obtaining tickets. Approximately 500 tickets are released daily for Centre Court, No. 1 Court, and No. 2 Court, with unreserved seating available on outer courts and Henman Hill.
Practical Information for Queuers
Anyone joining the queue is required to download the official Wimbledon App and create a myWIMBLEDON account in advance; their digital ID will be scanned when purchasing a ticket at the turnstiles. The queue forms at Wimbledon Park, where numbered, dated Queue Cards are issued to reserve places in line.
Recent matches at the championships included Naomi Osaka's upset victory over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets, and Novak Djokovic surpassing Roger Federer's all-time record for most men's singles match wins at Wimbledon, securing his 106th victory. The schedule for July 6 features Fourth Round matches, including Great Britain's last remaining singles player, Arthur Fery, facing Grigor Dimitrov on Centre Court.
