Unbelievable: Journey to Wimbledon SW19 is an Unforgettable Annual Tradition!

Receive free tennis updates

we will send you a myFT Daily Recap email rounding up the latest Tennis news every morning.

This article is part of a tennis guide by F.T. Globetrotter

For the past 20 years, I have been making pilgrimages to Wimbledon, often from as far away as Beijing and New Delhi. Long before that, I had been reverently imagining it every summer since 1975 when I fell under its spell listening to BBC radio commentary on the event, long before we had a TV in my family’s tennis-obsessed home. in Kolkata.

To fully understand the peculiar mystique of Wimbledon, it is necessary to visit the grounds outside the All England Club, where the line begins for those trying to score 500 Center Court and 500 Court #1 tickets, as well as the thousands of field passes sold that day. With water refill stations, food outlets and ATMs, this huge area of ​​Wimbledon Park resembles a Disney-style theme park. Teams of dark blue jacketed All England Club volunteer stewards are deployed to update those queuing on the action inside and even act as a 6am wake-up alarm for those staying overnight in the park.

A couple of decades ago, I was ceremoniously kicked out of line after standing in line for six hours. Even this was done with such courtesy that I came away admiring the strictness of their rules even more. That year, the club had distributed a piece of paper to those who entered the queue for the first time. Distracted by a telephone conversation about renting an apartment, he had entered the line without him.

At the other end of the ticket spectrum are bond buyers, who have financed the tournament’s new projects for decades, including the miraculously translucent accordion-style retractable roofs over the two show courts. The practice of issuing bonds dates back to 1920. The current 2021-25 series for Center Court is trading at around £115,000 on the secondary market for a seat on Center Court every day of the Championships, a premium over the £80 000 that the obligations cost when they are delivered. Were issued. In other words, because there are more buyers than debentures, the price goes up even though the new owner won’t own them for the entire run of five Wimbledons. This suggests that the pleasure and prestige of attending the tournament play an important role in its valuation.

Wimbledon may be the most celebrated and contested Grand Slam tournament, but each year it allows thousands of people to enjoy a Cinderella moment. If you were lucky enough to have secured a ticket through your annual ticket, or because you had the financial ability to purchase a bond for over £100,000 or one of their hospitality packages offered by Keith Prowse, or have the stamina to stand in line during the night, you get a seat on center court, you will be treated very well. There is something paradoxically egalitarian and exclusive about being on the club’s hallowed grounds for the fortnight.

For about a decade and a half, I have been a member of its vast press corps, writing articles on the tournament, many for the FT. The familiar routines of my annual trips back to SW19, if anything, have made me more compulsively obsessive about attending this English garden party that doubles as a tournament.

Once inside the grounds, I tend to miss lunch as I navigate between matches on the show courts. I’m often in an unseemly full run to get to pitch number 3, say, before changeover is over and the ushers (usually volunteers from the British armed forces, another charming quirk of championships), insist they wait for the next one. rest.

Wimbledon somehow manages to preserve the feel of a club tournament featuring the best tennis players in the world. Center Court attendees, even those with access to separate hospitality tents and dining rooms, are urged to be at Center Court in time for the start of featured matches. Thus, there are no empty courtside seat alcoves, as is often the case with corporate boxes at the US Open, where the main court is so large that its upper reaches allow for a better view of the New York skyline than of tennis.

---

While I love the intensity of the fortnight itself, one of the most special moments is the weekend before the start of the tournament. During those two days, the players have practice sessions, and as a member of the media, you get to watch them from the pitch. Last year, when I took a close-up photo of Carlos Alcaraz nearly obliterating the ball from 15 feet away, I realized that the person kneeling to lace up next to me was Novak Djokovic. The Serb is among the most accessible stars, but I was too intimidated to talk to him, despite being a big fan of his bellicose style and tough-mindedness.

Last summer, with strikes and staff shortages, London looked like a frozen city. Despite that, everything at SW19 felt as serene and organized as ever when I arrived at Wimbledon on a perfect summer day. Everyone I met, from a gardener putting in new pots of the club’s signature purple, white, green and blue petunias and hydrangeas, to the temporary cafeteria staff, seemed in an irrepressibly good mood.

Walking out of a pre-tournament press conference, I realized I didn’t have the timings right for a practice session between two of the sport’s most stylish players, Grigor Dimitrov and Félix Auger-Aliassime. I ran as fast as I could, embarrassingly nearly colliding with Auger-Aliassime as he was walking away from the courts. He smiled anyway when I wished him luck. There was a glorious fortnight ahead, but if you’re a tennis fan, it’s never enough.

What does the Wimbledon experience epitomize for you? Tell us in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter