A Guide to Wimbledon

Pimms? Check. Strawberries? Check. Are your whites white? Check! Wimbledon kicks off on Monday and, as a bit of a tennis junkie and SW19 regular, I thought I’d share some stories and impart some wisdom (ha!) which may or may not be of use to people interested in visiting the Championships. Here we go…

How To Get There

Train

Trains run every 5 – 10mins from London Waterloo and a return will only cost you a few quid. There are also trains every 10 – 15mins from the Guildford / Woking direction. If you’re coming from somewhere else then best check the South West Trains website for times and changes.

Tube

Jump on the District Line (the green one) and head south. You can either ride all the way to Wimbledon Station or jump off at Southfields (two stops before) and walk. (Head down Wimbledon Park Road and after 5 - 10mins you’ll see the grounds on your right).

Buses

Once at Wimbledon Station, head out the main exit and there are shuttle buses directly in front that leave every 5 minutes and take you straight to the grounds and the queue. A single costs about 2 quid and a return is a bit more – please note that prices vary each year. (This is my transport of choice. One year we found ourselves walking back to the bus stop with Nikolay Davydenko wandering along a few steps in front of us without a care in the world… in the following December he went on to win the ATP Finals at the O2. Bizarre!)

Taxi

If you don’t want to wait for a bus, there’s a taxi rank outside the main exit and to the right. Obviously it works out cheaper if the cab’s full, so if there are only a couple of you why not befriend some strangers! (But don’t accept sweets from them!)

What To Take

Sun cream

If you don’t take anything else with you, make sure you take this! The last few years have delivered incredible weather and even though I’ve reapplied throughout the day I’ve left the grounds slightly toasted every time. My friend makes sure she reapplies every hour or so and yet she still burns. One year she even got burnt through her scarf (much to our amusement!).

Water

Forget what I said about sun cream – this is the one thing you need to take! Unless you’re on Centre Court all day and the roof is shut, you’re going to be in direct sunlight all day. Add that to queuing time and you’re probably going to be in it for 12+ hours, which means you’re going to be dehydrated before even considering a Pimms. Luckily, you can bring a bottle and keep re-filling at one of the taps around the grounds. You can also use the taps to cool yourself off it gets really hot… not that I have ever done that…

Lunch and snacks

Unless you’re lucky enough to be dining at the Wingfield Restaurant, you may want to bring your own picnic lunch. There is a food court but the prices are high and the food, honestly, isn’t anything to write home about. You’re better off heading to M&S Food for a selection of treats before you set out.

Camera

Obviously. You literally never know what’s going to happen at Wimbledon or what you’re going to see. Take a camera or regret it forever.

Umbrella

…ella, ella! Because, let’s face it, we’re in England. Plus it can double up as a sun shade (as long as you’re not on the show courts and obstructing someone’s view).

What To Wear

Obviously this depends on the weather. The last few years have blessed us with some absolutely glorious sunshine, meaning shorts, skirts, t-shirts and flip-flops have been standard attire. This year looks like it’s going to me more like the Wimbledon’s I remember from my childhood – rain delays, cowering under umbrellas and wishing you’d worn more layers.

However, this is England so there’s a good chance it’ll be brilliant sunshine one minute and freezing downpours the next. So the key to surviving the day is layers! Here’s what I’m planning to take:

- An outfit suitable for sunshine and heat

- A slightly warmer layer in case it’s a bit breezy

- A jumper / hoodie for colder moments and in case play continues into the evening (Isner v Mahut are scheduled for Round 1…)

- Waterproof jacket

Things To Check Out

Outside courts

If you’ve only got Grounds tickets then that doesn’t mean you can only watch stuff on the big screen. There are loads of outside courts featuring lower seeded players and doubles matches, some of which have seating and others where you can only stand. But they’re still good – last year we stood and witnessed an incredible doubles match where Dominic Inglot and Chris Eaton (two un-seeded Brits) defeated the world No.1’s – Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic. It was brilliant! The first week is the best for these courts – there’s more going on so the chances of seeing higher-ranked players is greater.

New plaque for Isner and Mahut

One of the outside courts is the now infamous Court 18 where John Isner and Nicholas Mahut played out their ridiculous 11 hours, 5 min battle. To celebrate their ridiculousness a commemorative plaque has been added – worth checking out if you’re around the court.

Practice courts

If you want to sneek a peek at your favourite players warming up, head down to the practice courts. There’s usually someone good down there – over the years we’ve seen Fed, Djokovic, Soderling, Monfils and Rafa. It’s a bit like a zoo in the sense that you have to queue up for a few minutes and the players are behind a fence, but if you can get past that then its brilliant!

Autograph island

You never know who’s going to be here but there’s usually someone signing stuff and smiling for photos with fans. So if you want someone to sign your giant novelty tennis ball, or even your arm, then keep an eye out!

Winners walk

If you snoop around under Centre Court you’ll stumble upon a wall charting all the winners of the singles and doubles matches throughout the years. Perfect for sheltering and killing time during rain delays!

Ticket Resale

Anyone with tickets who leaves before the end of play is encouraged to pop their ticket into one of the resale boxes outside the courts. They’re then re-sold for £5 (with the money going to charity) to anyone already in the grounds. The queues for Centre Court and Court 1 tickets are often long but it’s worth it if you want to see the greats in action, and around mid-afternoon they start to go down quite quickly. I do this every year and always get to see at least one entire match.

What Not To Do

Shout “C’mon Tim”

It is sort of mildly funny the first time round, but 5 days into the tournament and for the 3rd time during a match which doesn’t include a Brit, the joke gets a bit stale. It’s been 4 years since Tiger Tim played on these hallowed grass courts, time to move on.

Drunkenly complain about how much you hate tennis

Big sporting events attract corporate idiots. You may be there because of the free alcohol your company is providing and so you can boast when you’re back at the office, but remember there are genuine fans here who have literally queued for hours in burning sun / torrential rain and won’t even get onto a show court to see their idols. Shut up or hand in your ticket and get out.

Act like a crazed, tennis-loving 13-year-old girl

Okay, I may be slightly guilty of sprinting through the crowds to get a picture of Andy Roddick (people say they’ve never seen me move so fast) and I may have gasped quite loudly at Rafa removing his shirt when he was standing only a few feet away from me (In my defence I wasn’t alone and it was purely a reflex and thus out of my control – that guy has the body of a Greek god!), but I’m not proud of it. I would never run up to anyone and stutter “oh my god, I’m like, your biggest fan and I like, totally love you, please sign my face.” That’s not cool. Many of the players, particularly lower seeded ones, wander about the grounds along with everyone else. Respect their space, it’s not a zoo!

Take in massive banners and flags

First of all, this isn’t a football match. Second of all, anything that could obstruct spectators’ view will be taken off you at the security gates.

Shout, make any sudden movements or use flash photography during a point

This is a Grand Slam, not a quick rally in the local park. For the players, this is their livelihood and winning matches here can determine the path of their entire career. If the flow of the game is interrupted and the players get angry you’ll be glared at by the crowd and thrown out by security.

Litter

This really annoys me. Whether you’re in the queue in Wimbledon Park, sitting on Henman Hill or in prime position on Centre Court, take your rubbish with you. There are plenty of bins and there’s no excuse for being a slob.

Be annoying

Smoking and mobile phones are a massive NO. Don’t smoke in the stands, put your phone on silent and leave the stands before you make a call. It may be Wimbledon but the fans will lynch you if needs be.

So there we have it. Forget Christmas, this is what I consider “the most wonderful time of the year”. I’ll be down at the grounds for a couple of days over the coming week and following the rest of the action like an absolute hawk. Feel free to send any questions my way and I’ll try to answer them!

For all the official information from the Championships, visit the Wimbledon website.

Enjoy! (And beware of Wombles!)