First-Time Wimbledon Experience: Great Matches But Be Prepared to Spend
I was lucky enough to snag Centre Court tickets for day two of Wimbledon. It was my first time attending, though my husband had been twice before on corporate tickets. The venue is about a 15-minute walk from Southfields Tube station, and I’ve heard there are shuttle buses, but we didn’t see any. Getting through the gates involved quite long queues, and adding to the hassle, we had to leave an iPad at the left luggage area due to them being banned on the grounds. That was inconvenient. It happened to be the hottest day of the year, making shade almost impossible to find. Luckily, there were plenty of water fountains, and large Evian refillable bottles were sold for £5 with free refills offered at Evian kiosks if you didn’t bring your own bottle. Food and drinks, however, were pricey—£12.25 for a glass of Pimms, £11 for gin and tonic, and £100 for a bottle of champagne. Strawberries and cream were more reasonably priced at £2.70, offering about 8 or 9 strawberries with a generous helping of cream. Merchandise was also extremely expensive—£120 for a hat, £195 for a duffel bag, and £125 for a picnic blanket. We settled for some free tennis balls from the AMEX area instead! One big drawback was the overcrowding. Queues were everywhere, and moving around the grounds felt difficult due to the sheer number of people. If you’re hoping to catch matches on smaller courts with a grounds ticket, be prepared for the crowds—it felt like they may have increased the capacity in recent years. Despite all this, we got to watch three entertaining matches on Centre Court. It was a great day overall, but definitely one that requires deep pockets to fully enjoy!