I know a few people were planning to apply for SW19 in 2007..

So just thought I'd mention that the deadline for receipt of applications is 15 December 2006..

Link for making the application is as follows:

http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/about/tickets/index.html

I've never been to Wimbledon, but my wife and I are moving from Hungary to the UK in January (or even sooner if more people get lynched in the next street to us by neo-Nazi loonies) and my Hungarian wife is absolutely set on going to see tennis in SW19. I've told her it isn't possible to watch Federer on center court, but actually, how possible is it to at least see some of the outer courts? Has anyone any experience of buying tickets on the day? Does it mean queuing from 6 in the morning? Or is it not as bad as we are led to believe?

Can I ask, does anyone have any idea why Wimbledon chooses to sell tickets in this way? Does any other slam or masters event require spectators to queue for hours on end before they can get tickets? Or am i missing something and you can actually book tickets?

I just don't understand why on earth Wimbledon continues with this method for distributing tickets - the ballots might be a good idea, but why force people to queue for tickets to the outside courts. I'd love to go, but I may be put off by the fact that there's no guarantee i will be able to get tickets and I'd have to put a lot of money in to getting to london.

i wish they would just sell the tickets through ticketmaster or something, i've tried the ballot for the last three years and got nothing! :( if they just sold them normally it might attract more of a 'people's sunday' type crowd everyday, which i think would be a great atmosphere. they could still have some tickets available for queuing on the day, but like you say its a long way to come for nothing if you don't get in!

Nick the last 2 times ive been I already had tickets, but the time before I que as do a lot of my friends every year.

from my experience the best day to que would be the middle saturday, try and get there around 7-8 id say am to be safe, it is like 3-4 hours queing but nothing beats the atmosphere as you meet fans from all over the world who will share their experiences with you.
You will then once you get in be able to by a ground pass, this enables you to watch from court 3 all the way down to court 18 and there will be some facilities for you to have a standing view on Court 2!

Now before 5pm a lot of coperates hand in there tickets for main courts i.e centre and Court 1 before 5pm these would be resold for £5 and after 5pm I think its for £3 again the que would be like 45 mins possible up to an hour but if you want to do this then its definately worth it as you would get to see the Federer's or Nadals at such an amazing price on the main court!!!

whatever you decide I hope that helps and that you have a great time :)

What a splendid reply! Thanks ... we'll definitely be giving it a go!

I used to queue until 3 years ago and I found that as long as I joined the queue by 4:30am I usually got Centre or No1. I think more people now queue overnight so it's got more difficult. It's probably worth applying in the ballot and also joining the LTA, who have their own ballot for members. Otherwise there is always ebay and as long as you buy only Debenture tickets you are quite safe there.

Yes and don't forget you have to apply for the ballot before 31.12.2006. Thats the deadline.
The best days to queue are the 1st Monday and Tuesday . Not so long queues and much to see. But the outside courts very busy.
And in the second week hardly any queues less to see but less crowds around the outside courts.
Avoid the middle Saturday at all costs unless you have tickets. The queues are so long you could be in the line for 6 hours. You are unlikely to get in before 2 pm. Complete waste of time as it is also so busy inside the grounds . Even Henman Hill has to close its that full.
And dont forget once capacity has been reached and it does get reached . They close the grounds.
Only 2 reasons to go on the middle Saturday.
A. If you have tickets
B. If you are prepared to get in the queue at 7 pm the night before. Other than that forget it. I am speaking from experience here

Hi Jilly - thanks for your advice!

My friend and i were planning to go on the first Tuesday, so hopefully we'll be able to get ground tickets. how early do you have to get in the queue for the first couple of days???

Oh . Hello. You are welcome.
Well you can either go about 10am 0r 11am and expect a reasonable queue of about 45 mins to an hour . But it keeps moving. Or you can get there early say 7 am and be near the front of the queue. But it will be static as the grounds do not open until 10.30am. This is for ground pass only. Bear in mind at about midday to 1pm the grounds will have reached capacity. Then they close the gates. After that its one out one in basis. If I was you I would either go about 10am. Or forget the queue and go early afternoon say 2.30pm. Then the queues will have gone and people have started to filter away.
Last year I went on the first Monday got there at about 11.30 am and there was no queue at all. It rained later on though. So I went back on the Tuesday and again got there at about 11.00am. This time the queue was right back to the tube station but it was moving fast. I got in about 12.15 pm
20mins after I got in they made an announcement that the grounds had reached capacity and they were closing the gates. Bear in mind Tim Henman was playing that day and there was a complete backlog of matches due to mondays rain. Anyway whatever happens you will get in on a ground pass . Except for the middle saturday .Dont worry. Its the show court Tickets that are like gold dust

Have you ever camped out overnight Jill? Can you get Court 1/CC tickets by going in the queue? Or can you just get them in the ballot?

Hiya Dav,
Yes you can get c.c and no.1 and no.2 court tickets through the ballot but you cannot choose the day.
Then they allocate so many of the above for the people that queue. I think its around 500 for each court per day for the queuers. The exception being for the last 4 days of the championships. Then all tickets are pre sold.
So for example you cannot queue for a ticket for Ladies semi final.
No I have not camped out overnight.
Think about this. These tickets are so precious I have left the grounds on many occasions say 7 or 8 pm and the campers are already in the queue for the next day. I think they may even get there late afternoon. They give them an armband with a number on. ( the position in the queue) . So then they may leave for the toilet etc. Or even the chinese takeaway down the road :D
A few things have changed recently. Now no one is allowed to queue ( camp) all down the road leading to the main gates. They have moved them away . They still camp and have armbands but it is well away from the gates. And also anyone who joins the queue is subject to strict airport style security checks before they are allowed even near to the gates. Funnily enough those with pre sold tickets are just briefly searched on the gate.
Sometimes I have tickets and sometimes I just get a ground pass. I usually go for 2 days.
Once I got a ground pass for Mens final day and I watched it on the Hill. And you know what they just couldnt give away No.1 court Tickets. They hadnt pre sold them all :rolleyes:

Bear in mind though the days that a Brit is playing especially Tim Henman. The queue is extra long.

Well, I've never been to Wimbledon, but it seems much better at the US Open, the queues are never long, and you can get grounds pass which is everywhere except Ashe Stadium or Ashe pass, which is everywhere...

The only thing is, if a day is rained out, then the queue the following day will be huge, because you've got people from the rained out day and people going that day, I'd love to go to Wimbledon though :)

Camping would be a laugh :lol: I'd say there'd be a good atmosphere :)

I hear that Dav about the US Open. My daughter went for a day last year. Sounds like a better system.
You know you should go to Wimbledon. You would enjoy the atmosphere and tradition. Yes and I think if you are young enough you should camp. Mind you I saw some oaps camping out last year. They had all the gear. Tent , BBQ, radio, T.V. Blankets, chair , books ,even knitting umbrella , kettle . the lot roflmao . This is a tip to increase your chances of getting a ticket in advance. Join the LTA. It costs about £ 30 a year. You get Ace magazine every month and you go into the LTA Wimbledon Ballot. You have a better chance than the public ballot.
Also they have a reseve ballot for returned tickets. Which is quite good.
One year I got tickets from the public ballot and the LTA ballot. For the 1st Friday and middle Saturday no.1 court. That was a real piece of good luck.
Well yes if it rains then the problems begin.
Catch you later Dav. Hope it helps you. I am off for a bit. Bye.

See ya Jill :D Didn't you once get tickets for the women's semis and decided to not go ;) roflmao

Can you join the LTA if you're not a UK resident? :huh:

Hi again Dav,
Not sure about the LTA membership . But check out their website . Its quite good. It might tell you on there.
The website also tells you if you have been successful in the ballot after the draw or if you are on the reserve list. You just have to put your membership number in.

Re the Ladies semifinal.
No I have never had tickets for centre court after years of trying . Just no.1 court or no. 2 court
I think I was referring to the LTA ballot. If you go onto the reserve list they write to you and ask you which days you DONT want to go. So I once did put I didnt want Centre Court on the 2nd Thursday or the 2nd saturday which is ladies semi final day and final day. :rolleyes:
I know thats bad isnt it . But I wanted to see mens matches.
I thought I might get the mens final. Some hope eh? ;) roflmao

So has anyone received tickets yet?

I haven't :(

Were you successful in the ballot then LDF? I wasn't :(

I didnt even phone for tickets roflmao

I will be going to Eastbourne hopefully anyway, once I've got some tickets so that should make up for it :D

I'll be away for the second week of Wimbledon anyway :( I will have to ask someone to video all the matches for me :rolleyes:

Nope :(

Though last year people got tickets as late as early March, so there's still hope :pray:

Hi All,
Got my letter yesterday saying I had been allocated a pair of Centre Court tickets for 25th June (opening day). Never seen the great man play 'live' so I'm double chuffed that I'll be witnessing the first steps towards his Borg-equalling 5th in a row :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

1st time I've had ballot tickets in 5 years so please forgive the "yahoo's!" :giggle:

Wow! So very very jealous!
Congratulations! :clap: :yahoo:

So this was through the Wimbledon Ticket Ballot then? I have always meant to look into this but never have? Do you have to be an LTA member or can anybody just enter?

It's open to anyone. Applications have to be in by 31st December. LTA members are also entered into the Ballot automatically. I've been applying each year for 21 years now and usually find I get lucky every 4-5 times. :pray:

Well, I've just received a letter...

Unfortunately it's Court 1 tickets for the second Friday - I can't make it because I have work experience, and even if I could I'm not exactly appealed by watching a few doubles match. :shrug:

*sigh*

Let's make it clear to everybody here.

I live less than a mile away from Center Court (the real CC) so if any of you have tickets and sadly can't make it, let me know and I 'll be happy to buy the tickets off you.

:hug: :P ;)

A rain delay and you end up watching great singles quarters. I watched Nadal v Nieminen quarter like that though my best program on the ticket would have been watching Leconte Ivanisevic doing bozoos.

What are your accommodation rates? roflmao

Believe it or not I offered Gasquet's team free accomodation and got a nice and polite reply saying they had booked long in advance...Poor guy he did not know yet he was going to face Fed in the first round. His stay was shorter than expected. I have neighbours around that end up with some players (often the lesser known of course).

Still, worth remembering ;)

:angry: can you believe I didnt apply again this year.... though, I probably couldnt get the time off work... but if I called in sick...

whos queueing with me??? roflmao

Got my letter today :yahoo: I am soooooooooooooooooooooo excited!! Have got a pair of tickets for 4th July (again!), court 1 - weather pending mens quarters!!!! I am over the moon!!! Just have to do the arm twisting tomorrow to get the day off, had already booked the 1st week off so praying they will let me have the 4th off! :pray:

Got my letter yesterday Tuesday 3rd July Court 1

Ladies Quarter Finals!! Yay!

Only the ladies semi's or final would have been better and I had the semis last year!

See you all there :yahoo:

So has anyone got any tickets from the LTA ballot? Results are online now. I didn't this year but already have mine from the general one so it's cool :ok:

see you in the line hun! :wub: :wub: :wub:

I'll be there - nothing once again in the ballot this year. :o

Can I just ask again why Wimbledon sell tickets in this way? In this day and age it does seem the most bizarre system. Why can't they just sell tickets over the t'interweb? :shrug: They could always keep some back if they wish to retain the whole queue thing. :unsure:

I'll miss the tennis with you again hun

;) :bigkiss:

I think they are trying to stop touts buying them all up and then selling them for millions. I don't mind the system but then again thats probs cos I have done well out of it over the last 4 years.