Thousands of fans will flock through the gates of Wimbledon over the next fortnight. Last year, 548,770 people converged on the All England Club to witness the biggest Grand Slam of the tennis calendar, seeing two new names get engraved on the men’s and women’s singles trophies. Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek won maiden titles on the south London grass, but most spectators would have been limited to watching them - amongst the other star names - on the screens around the grounds, rather than in the flesh. That is because most visitors to Wimbledon either purchase the far cheaper ground pass, especially if they are unlucky in the ballot, rather than the astronomically-priced tickets for the show courts. And while the very biggest players will play solely on the biggest stages, that does not mean to say that there are not entertaining match-ups to come on the outside courts, giving those with ground passes reason to be excited.
Which Courts Can I Access with a Ground Pass at Wimbledon?
With grounds access, you can get on every court except Centre Court, Court No1 and Court No2, all of which you need separate tickets for. Otherwise, Courts No3-No18 are free to enter, and in the first few rounds of the tournament, they can provide some magical moments.
Which Are the Best Matches on Outside Courts Today?
Today marks day one of the Championships, and the order of play was confirmed on Saturday morning. Play on the outside courts begins at 11am BST, and there are some superb match-ups off the bat.
On Court No3, one of the sport’s top prodigies and great entertainers Rafael Jodar, who is carrying Spanish hopes in the absence of two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz, opens play against British wildcard Felix Gill. The 19-year-old No23 seed reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, as well as the last eight and last four of Madrid, Rome and Barcelona respectively.
Rounding up the action on the same court is 17-year-old Hannah Klugman, who takes on 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Queen’s Club semi-finalist Iva Jovic - who was beaten by Emma Raducanu two weeks ago - begins her Wimbledon campaign on Court No15 against Jaqueline Christian, with the American teenager a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open and one of the top stars in the women’s game.
Court No18 always brings up some tasty encounters, and first up there you will find last year’s semi-finalist Belinda Bencic, the 11th seed, taking on British prospect Mika Stojsavljevic. Later on Court No18, Joao Fonseca, the flamboyant Brazilian likened to Neymar, takes on the wily Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut, the 2019 semi-finalist, in a real collision of tennis past and present.
Court No17 has a packed lineup from start to finish, with American 16th seed Learner Tien looking to make a statement on the grass. He starts against Dalibor Svrcina, before home favourite Harriet Dart tussles with the former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who stunned world No1 Sinner at Roland Garros a month ago, takes on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who reached the final of the Mallorca Open last week. Last on Court No17 is Briton Fran Jones, who plays with three fingers on each hand, as she faces the tricky Frenchwoman Diane Parry, who regularly causes problems for the very top players.
